The DPJ: One year on

JAPAN

Has the Democratic Party of Japan made any significant achievements in its first year in office?

To lose one prime minister after less than a year in government may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose two in the space of four months looks distinctly careless. Yet this is the situation facing the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) after the leadership contest triggered by the party’s éminence grise, Ichiro Ozawa. Mr Ozawa, the ‘shadow shogun’, has made a play for the top job, in a bid to seize control from the recently appointed Naoto Kan. The internal election, which will be decided on 14 September, looks to be a close-run thing. Of course, there is nothing new about short-lived Ja...