Word: primed
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...took 308 of the 480 seats in the House of Representatives, 12 seats shy of a two-thirds majority that would have allowed the party to single-handedly pass bills rejected by the upper house. The LDP won 119, slightly more than a third of what it had before Prime Minister Taro Aso dissolved parliament in July. Aso stepped down as party chief the day after elections...
...Handed a mandate to steer Japan out of a malaise of economic crisis and failed social systems, the next Prime Minister of Japan and his party need to reverse the nation's lost confidence in government leadership. A misstep, scandal or lack of fortitude in reform could cost the DPJ the upper-house elections next July - a severe check on the new administration's progress. Experts pinpoint five areas where the new ruling party should put its focus to get the nation back on track...
...September, the DPJ will take over as the official ruling party, with the Diet's election of Hatoyama as Prime Minister and the appointment of ministers. That leaves 100 days for the new administration to draft a budget for the next fiscal year that doesn't increase the national deficit - now at 180% of GDP - but still holds to its costly election-year pledges. If the national budget is not prepared by the end of the year, the green shoots of economic growth could...
...that there's no personnel overhaul with a change in administration. Japanese bureaucrats wield more power - sometimes even more than elected officials - and have long called the shots on everything from budget formulation to foreign policy. The DPJ has vowed to expand the power of the Prime Minister's office and the Cabinet, something pursued by previous Prime Ministers. But it's a delicate job, and one that could easily go sour. (See pictures of Japan in 1989 and Japan...
...their desire not to be tainted by the criminal prosecution. "On this difficult day, we must not forget Olmert's rich contributions," said Kadima legislator Yoel Hasson. But Kadima's right wing could take advantage of the crisis to split the party and cross over to the Likud, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been trying to woo them for months. Such a move would bolster Netanyahu's shaky coalition that depends for its survival on small right-wing parties that champion unlimited Israeli settlement in the West Bank...