Japan begins a new era

Monday, August 31, 2009

Japan's Democratic Party handed the ruling Liberal Democrats a crushing defeat in yesterday's election, ending a half century of nearly uninterrupted one-party rule. The DPJ won 308 of the 480 seats in the assembly, a 175 percent increase.

Now, of course, begins the hard part. The DPJ faces a laundry list of economic problems and an impatient electorate. The Party has promised robust social spending measures to combat the crisis, but with high deficits, it's not clear where the money is coming from. It's also an open question how a DPJ led government will reorient Japan's role on the world stage and its relationship with the United States.

In mid-September, the DPJ will vote in a new prime minister. The job will almost certainly fall to party leader Yukio Hatoyama, an unlikely reformer and scion of a Japanese political dynasty.

Strategy review: The U.S. commander in Afghanistan, David McChystal, has sent his strategic review to the Pentagon calling for a new strategy in the war. The report doesn't mention troop level increases by McChrystal is expected to ask for them privately.

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