On Sunday, Japanese voters look like they will end the reign of the Liberal Democratic Party, which has, with but one short interruption, ruled the lower house of the Diet since 1955. The Democratic Party of Japan, which should win big this weekend, captured the Diet's upper house in 2007. Prefecture elections in Tokyo last month show a seismic shift in voter sentiment away from the ruling Liberal Democrats.
The LDP regained power quickly after losing the lower house in 1993, and the DPJ, so unwieldy it's often called a "ragbag," could fail to govern competently. History, therefore, could repeat itself with a LDP win in the near future. Yet, whatever may happen later, Japan's alliance with the U.S. will be tested now.
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