Still reeling from their general election loss and asking what went wrong under the leadership of Yukio Edano, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan is expected to see a change at the top by the end of this year.
Edano met with CDP members of parliament Tuesday to explain his decision to resign and decide the timing for the election of a new leader. Possible dates include a Nov. 21 campaign kickoff, with voting on Nov. 30, or a schedule beginning and ending a day later.
But whoever takes over from Edano will have to figure out how to regain the public's trust that the party can govern effectively and change the perception that all it does is criticize the ruling Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito coalition. Just as importantly, the CDP must decide what kind of cooperation with the Japanese Communist Party, if any, would be most effective in gaining the support of the public — and therefore new seats.