The Democratic Party of Japan's major election victory Sunday was what acting President Ichiro Ozawa had been aiming for, ensuring his influence on the political scene will grow further.
Having been forced to resign as party president and retreat to the background because of an funds scandal, Ozawa, 67, will not be able to celebrate the DPJ's Lower House poll win as party chief.
But he still wields considerable influence in the party that managed to end the dominance of the Liberal Democratic Party, to which Ozawa once belonged.