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The irony is that it had the complete opposite effect. Voters were unsure how the phrase “centrist” would translate into actual policies that differed from those of the LDP. The result was a devastating defeat in Sunday’s election, in which the allied Komeito and Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) lost more than two-thirds of the 167 seats that they previously held in the 465-seat chamber.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); });

Now, the party is faced with picking up the broken pieces and recovering from the loss — starting with a change in leadership.

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