Don't call us an opposition party, says Katsuya Okada, leader of the Democratic Party of Japan.

Okada told the media several weeks ago that the DPJ was not the opposition but "the party preparing to take office."

But the DPJ's defeat in Sunday's by-elections in the Fukuoka No. 2 and Miyagi No. 2 districts has called into question the party's ability to take power.