Azuma Koshiishi will probably continue to rule the No. 1 opposition Democratic Party of Japan from behind the scenes although his current position as the Upper House vice president yields little, if any, prestige or influence, lamented a party insider who supported Goshi Hosono, a losing candidate in the party presidential election on Jan. 18.
In the first balloting of that election, former party secretary general Hosono won with 298 points against the runner-up, ex-deputy prime minister and ex-DPJ chief Katsuya Okada, who garnered 294 points. This raised hopes that winds of change would blow through the party under Hosono's leadership.
In the run-off vote, however, former Lower House vice speaker Hirotaka Akamatsu and his followers from the former Japan Socialist Party, who had initially voted for the third candidate, former health and welfare minister Akira Nagatsuma, opted to support Okada. He thus defeated Hosono by 13 points and returned to the top party post.