Democratic Party of Japan and Japan Innovation Party

Japan: The DPJ surged to power for the first time in 2009 but were ousted by Abe LDP-led bloc three years later, after a reign that left a lasting image of incompetence and infighting, according to Asahi Shimbun. Abe, pledging to end decades of economic stagnation and boost Japan global profile, has since led his party to two more big elections wins. The merger of the Democratic Party of Japan with the smaller Japan Innovation Party poses no immediate threat to Abe ruling bloc, but the LDP support is more fragile than recent landslide election wins suggest and polls show many voters would opt for a credible rival if they felt one existed. "We want to respond to the voices of those with anxiety and doubts about the Abe administration," DPJ leader Katsuya Okada told a news conference announcing the merger. Many experts, though, attribute his longevity at least partly to voter perception of a lack of a viable alternative. "If there were a unified opposition, the LDP is vulnerable," said Jeffrey Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University Japan campus. The LDP and its junior partner, the Komeito party, won a two-thirds "super-majority" in a December 2014 Lower House election, but with record low turnout of about 53 percent. In the short-term, the merger, along with proposed election cooperation with the Japanese Communist Party, could also make it harder for the LDP and its allies to win a majority of two-thirds in a July Upper House poll needed to tackle Abe cherished goal of revising the pacifist Constitution. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.