Taro Aso's Nightmare

Less than one year after Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso took the reigns of the hobbling Japanese government and economy, he is faced with a daunting prospect - the end of his term as Japan's leader, and of one-party rule in Japan.

While Aso is well regarded by foreign leaders, his tenure is sure to come to a close now that Tokyo municipal elections delivered a smashing blow to Aso's party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), in favor of the rival Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).

As various news outlets have reported, Aso has attempted to use pork barrel spending - a time-worn tradition in modern Japanese politics - to assuage voters ahead of the election he has called for Aug. 30. And recent economic data show Japan's slump could be nearing an end. Aso hopes these factors will renew some public trust in the LDP's national leadership in the next month.

The elastic thinker thinks Japan deserves and is ready for political change. The LDP has not necessarily squandered Japan's economic might - but it has certainly allowed back-room politics to become even more entrenched. Whether the DPJ will bring fresh ideas, or serve simply as the "anti-LDP," is a huge question mark, but one that the Japanese people deserve an answer for after years of LDP dominance. The biggest risk from DPJ election gains, of course, is a government that much more politically polarized that solving Japan's myriad economic issues will become even more onerous.

But the Japanese public, who are about to descend in what could be another "lost decade" of economic stagnation, most likely want change. It appears they will get it this time around. This will prove to be a significant development in world politics, and in the world's second largest economy.