The Democratic Party of Japan's latest annual convention, which ended Tuesday, was an occasion to renew its quest for power. That was only to be expected, given that the largest opposition party, emboldened by its dramatic gains in last November's general election, is determined to take over from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
For a start, the DPJ is getting ready to grill Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on contentious issues, such as the dispatch of Self-Defense Force troops to Iraq and constitutional revision, during the regular Diet session that opens next Monday. Further down the road, it is bracing for July's Upper House election, the biggest political showdown of 2004, which will likely set the pace for the next general election.
The DPJ's gains have raised hopes that Japan will have a working two-party system. The fact remains, however, that the party is still far short of a majority. In the last general election, it increased its strength in the 480-seat Lower House by 40 to 177, compared with 237 for the LDP (which later assembled a majority). Obviously the DPJ needs to win a lot more seats in order to take power.