Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration has been hit by steep declines in the approval ratings of his Cabinet in media polls, which came on the heels of his Liberal Democratic Party's historic defeat in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly race earlier this month. It was Abe's first loss in key elections since he returned to the government's helm in 2012. But while the media is abuzz with talk of cracks finally emerging in Abe's dominant grip on power, what seems to get little attention is the dismal state of the largest opposition Democratic Party, which remains unable to turn popular criticism of the administration into support for the opposition. The DP's leaders need to face up to this grim reality and take steps for the party to stay relevant as a credible challenge to the prime minister's ruling coalition.

Recent public opinion surveys by the Asahi Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun both put the Cabinet's approval ratings at their lowest level since the administration was launched — and far below the disapproval numbers. The same surveys showed that popular support for the DP was little changed at 5 to 6 percent — far below that of the LDP.

The DP's performance in the assembly race in Tokyo — the home turf of its leader, Renho — was symbolic of the dire straits in which the leading opposition party finds itself. Even before the campaign started, the party suffered defections of one candidate after another to the new Tomin First no Kai (Tokyoites First) party led by Gov. Yuriko Koike, which went on to win the most seats and, together with its allies, capture a majority in the 127-seat assembly. The DP won only five seats, down from its pre-election strength of seven and a far cry from the 54 its predecessor, the Democratic Party of Japan, captured in the 2009 assembly race in a prelude to its victory in the Lower House election that swept the party to power.