In a historic change in Japan's parliamentary political history, the Democratic Party of Japan defeated the Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito ruling coalition in Sunday's Lower House election. The DPJ has captured 308 seats out of the 480 seats in the all-important chamber.
The DPJ's victory ends almost 55 years of uninterrupted rule by the LDP, which was formed and first took power in late 1955. The election also represents the first Lower House election in the postwar universal suffrage era in which one opposition party has won a majority in the chamber by defeating a ruling party that enjoyed a majority. Japan's democracy has matured to a stage in which the people will readily vote for a change in government when they are dissatisfied with the status quo.
The election's outcome should not be interpreted as a simple "yes" vote for the DPJ, despite its landslide victory. It was, in fact, a "no" vote for the LDP, as demonstrated by an Asahi Shimbun poll in which just 25 percent of those surveyed believed Japan would head in a positive direction if there was a change of government. Up to 54 percent thought the situation would not change. Clearly, the DPJ government faces a tough road ahead.