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Japan election: now the hard part

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Robin Lustig | 09:29 UK time, Monday, 31 August 2009

Nagashima.jpgIt was the morning after the night before.

The opposition Democratic Party of Japan had won an unprecedented landslide victory - and MP Akihisa Nagashima was outside the local commuter station with a microphone in his hand, thanking voters for their support and promising to deliver on the party's election promises.

Create more jobs. Increase welfare benefits. Cut unnecessary infrastructure projects. Reduce the power of the civil service.

All that while Japan suffers the devastating chill winds of the global recession, with record unemployment levels and plummeting exports.

When he'd finished at the station, Mr Nagashima welcomed me to his office, served iced tea, and admitted being daunted by the scale of the task ahead of him. "Of course, I am excited," he said, "but I am aware of the huge responsibility we now have."

The DPJ is barely a decade old, formed from the old Socialist party and defectors from the long-dominant Liberal Democratic Party, which yesterday suffered a catastrophic election defeat. It had ruled Japan almost uninterruptedly for more than half a century.

But the DPJ has never been in office. Some commentators say that's an advantage, because the new government will bring a fresh approach to the country's crisis. But with governments around the world still struggling to find a way out of global melt-down, there are those who fear this is not a good time for on-the-job training.

As the last votes were being cast last night, Tokyo was being lashed by rain brought in by a nearby typhoon. It's been raining non-stop ever since. Japan's new government is likely to face many more storms in the months to come.

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