There's always next time. Words of consolation, no doubt, but they hold greater meaning for those politicians who lost their Diet seats in November's House of Representatives election.
For many of them, July's race for the House of Councilors is just the ticket to win back a lawmaker badge.
Under the proportional representation system of voting for the Upper House, voters cast ballots for individual candidates, with the number of seats won by a party determined by the total number of votes garnered by its candidates. Which candidates actually fill those seats depends on the number of votes they win.