Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) President Ozawa Ichiro’s success in orchestrating the downfall of Prime Minister Abe Shinzo is a major victory for his party. It is also arguably the first time since the resignation of Abe’s grandfather, Prime Minister Kishi Nobusuke in 1960, that a prime minister has lost his job over an issue directly related to the U.S.–Japan alliance—perhaps the take-home impression of policymakers in Washington.