The Democratic Party of Japan was cruising Sunday night to a clear victory in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, taking over as the No. 1 force from the Liberal Democratic Party.
The DPJ, led by Yukio Hatoyama, is now poised to move on to the next step — winning control of the central government in the upcoming Lower House election.
Prime Minister Taro Aso's LDP suffered a devastating defeat, losing not only its leading position in the assembly for the first time in 40 years but Kyodo News projected that the party also lost the decisive majority it has held with its junior coalition partner New Komeito.