For Ishin no To (Japan Innovation Party), the Lower House election was a mixture of good and bad, as the party held onto virtually all of its seats, courtesy of the proportional representation system, amid predictions it would lose big.
Yet the real question now is whether Ishin no To can convince like-minded politicians in other opposition parties, especially in the Democratic Party of Japan, to unite against the ruling coalition juggernaut, beginning with nationwide local elections in April.
The final count Sunday saw Ishin no To winning 41 seats in the Lower House.