Former deputy PM Okada takes reins of Democratic Party

Japan's battle-scarred main opposition party on Sunday chose Katsuya Okada as its new leader as it tries to recover from a disastrous showing in December's general election and years of drift.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's win last month - his second in two years - was believed by some commentators to be largely due to the absence of a credible alternative.

The Democratic Party of Japan, which governed for three years until December 2012, won just 73 seats in the 475-seat lower house where Abe's Liberal Democratic Party has 291 seats.