Japanese politics in 2000 was marked by two major milestones. One is the inauguration of the administration of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori following the late Keizo Obuchi's resignation due to sudden illness. The other is the July 25 Lower House election in which the governing Liberal Democratic Party suffered a severe setback.
Mr. Mori took office amid public criticism over the behind-the-scenes succession process. The "legitimacy" question, combined with a series of verbal gaffes by the prime minister, such as Japan being a "nation of gods with the Emperor at its center," cast a long shadow over the election.
As it turned out, the LDP's strength in the influential Lower House dropped sharply from 271 to 233, short of the majority of 241 — although the number of Lower House seats had been reduced by 20. The party was hit hardest in single-seat districts in Tokyo, where a number of former Cabinet ministers lost their long-held seats. The voter backlash against the LDP was evident not only in the main urban centers but in key cities across the country, too.