Two-Party Japan Democracy Undone in 39 Months as DPJ Falls
This article is for subscribers only.
It took 54 years for Japan’s politics to produce a viable opposition party, and 39 months for it to self-destruct after winning power, splintering prospects for an enduring policy-driven two-party system.
The Democratic Party of Japan lost three-fourths of its seats in parliament’s lower house three years after sweeping the Liberal Democratic Party from a half-century of almost unbroken rule. An LDP-led coalition won a two-thirds majority in the 480-seat chamber, according to public broadcaster NHK.