In a nutshell

The most succinct, accurate analysis of Japan politics I've seen in a while. Quoted from a Martin Fackler article in the NYT, of all things.

“Something ended when the L.D.P. lost,” said Koji Kubota, 74, a retired post office worker who listened on a recent afternoon to a candidate’s stump speech, “but no one is sure what comes next.”

Gerald Curtis notes in the same article that this is "a period of creative destruction and the destructive phase is not yet over."