The Democratic Party of Japan's victories Sunday in two Upper House by-elections indicate Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's new administration is still on its honeymoon since the DPJ's landslide victory in the Aug. 30 general election.
But Hatoyama's "conductor-style" oversight of his Cabinet — in stark contrast to DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa's "dictatorial" rule in party politics, may pose a future threat for an administration already criticized for its ministers' individualistic and often conflicting stances on key issues, experts warned.
Despite the low voter turnout in Sunday's races, the victories by Yoichi Kaneko in Kanagawa and Hirokazu Tsuchida in Shizuoka confirmed that the public still supports the new administration as it speeds through its second month in power.