Seiji Maehara, who defeated Yukio Edano in the Democratic Party's latest leadership election, faces the daunting task of regaining voter support for the No. 1 opposition force — something no one has been able to do since its predecessor was swept out of power in 2012. To accomplish this herculean task, Maehara needs to set a clear direction for the party by uniting its ranks — which have been marked by internal divisions ever since the Democratic Party of Japan was briefly at the helm of government.

Maehara takes over from the outgoing chief Renho just as the party stands at a critical juncture. The leadership race was overshadowed by the moves of one DP lawmaker after another to leave the party in recent months — including former deputy party chief Goshi Hosono, who quit just as the party was about to choose a new leader — and their possible tie-up with a national party being contemplated by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike. Speculation lingers that more DP lawmakers are waiting for a chance to leave the party to possibly join forces with the popular governor's new party.

The DP's dismal performance in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election in early August, which forced Renho to quit as party chief after less than a year in the position, was preceded by the desertion of more than a dozen candidates tapped to run in the race on the party's ticket. Popular support for the opposition leader remains sluggish in media polls, which has not gone up even as support for the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has plunged — evidence that the DP is not seen by voters as a viable alternative to Abe's Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling coalition.