Mr. Katsuya Okada, president of the Democratic Party of Japan, secured a second term as head of the largest opposition party Monday, the deadline for filing candidacies for president. Since Mr. Okada is the only candidate, he will be formally re-elected without a vote on Sept. 13. That's to be expected, since he boosted the DPJ's strength dramatically in July's Upper House election. His main challenge ahead is to unite the fragmented party for the next general election.
To take power, the DPJ will have to craft policies that can win the trust of the electorate. Mr. Okada's "2015 Vision for the Revival of Japan" -- a set of long-term policy commitments that include social-security reform, government-deficit reduction and administrative decentralization -- can provide a basis for that.
Mr. Okada has announced a collective security policy that would promote Japan's contributions to international peace and stability. He believes that, in the long run, Article 9 of the Constitution -- which places severe restraints on the use of force abroad -- should be amended so that the Self-Defense Forces can participate actively in U.N.-authorized multinational forces.