What next for Japan? On December 16th the country will hold a general election that may elect its eighth prime minister in seven years. The nation is ageing fast: by 2050, nearly 40% of the country will be over 65 years old. And its relations with China are increasingly tense. How can the country approach these challenges?

On Monday December 3rd Henry Tricks, The Economist's Tokyo bureau chief, will answer your questions on Twitter. Starting at 5pm in Tokyo and 8am in London, the discussion will appear in the space below and on Twitter via @econdiscuss. If you have a Twitter account you can pose a question (or add a comment) now using the box to the right. Just remember to add the hashtag #askeconomist to make sure your question reaches us.