The Democratic Party of Japan has formed a new executive team and a new shadow Cabinet, but one man of great influence is conspicuously absent: Mr. Ichiro Ozawa, the former acting president. His refusal to take up any post, apparently reflecting an ongoing dispute with the party president, Mr. Katsuya Okada, over defense and security policy, casts a shadow over the future of the largest opposition party.

Mr. Okada, who led the party to success in July's Upper House election, was formally re-elected unopposed at a special convention on Monday. Mr. Tatsuo Kawabata, the former Diet affairs chief, took up the No. 2 post of secretary general, succeeding Mr. Hirohisa Fujii, Mr. Ozawa's right-hand man. The "next Cabinet," which maintains a balance of factional power, includes two former presidents, Mr. Naoto Kan and Mr. Yukio Hatoyama, as well as Mr. Takahiro Yokomichi, formerly a key member of the now-defunct Japan Socialist Party.

Still, the new lineup without Mr. Ozawa raises questions about whether the DPJ will be able to put its divided house in order and develop a coherent policy agenda. Although the party's dramatic gains in the July election have improved the prospects for a two-party system, it has yet to map out a well-calibrated strategy for taking over the reins of government from the coalition of Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito.