Eyes turn to how DPJ wields new clout

With preliminary results indicating the ruling bloc has suffered a historic setback and the loss of its majority in the House of Councilors, attention now shifts to how much resistance the Democratic Party of Japan will put up against government-sponsored bills submitted to the chamber.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='250' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='../images/photos2007/nn20070730b2a.jpg' WIDTH='250' HEIGHT='164'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Democratic Party of Japan executives Naoto Kan –

and Yukio Hatoyama beam Sunday as they place a flower signifying a win next to a name on the DPJ's list of candidates at party headquarters in Tokyo. SATOKO KAWASAKI PHOTO

But DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa was conspicuously absent from any victory fanfare Sunday, and questions about his health continued to make the rounds.