While the LDP's dominance is nearly unparalleled, it was indelibly affected by the events in 1993. After it was unable to obtain a majority, it was never the same. 

The outcome of the election is not surprising. As of late, Japan's economic performance has been underwhelming. Also, the LDP has lacked an effective, charismatic leader since Koizumi retired as PM in 2006. The most interesting scenario that will result from this election is the new government versus the bureaucracy. The DPJ wants to reform the bureaucracy, and, what is an understatement, the Japanese bureaucracy is slow to change. The ensuing months should be entertaining.

Man, these powerful nations of the 1800s seem to be dropping one by one. Who's next?

Shhh.  I don't like where you're going with this.

Of course, no nation has ever had such a far reaching "influence" as the USA (I'll hold off the "e" word for now ), nor has a nation had the economic dominance in comparison to the rest of the world. The 1800 great powers were never superpowers.

Not that I'm saying that you won't fall, of course you will, all things that go up must come down, but it's going to be more of a gradual relative fall like Britain went through during the whole of the 1900s, rather than what Japan seems to be going through.

Yeah I guess they can...Oh nooo!  The UFO is going to blow it up and the SIMfolk hate me as a mayor but I digress  

Ah, SimCity 2000...

Japan has a long and tough road ahead of them. Reforms and change are inevitable.

Demographics, economy, etc. but they'll pull out of it, like they have in the past. A very tough and resourceful society. I smell change in the air.

No the British Empire in its heyday was more influential than the USA is today. At the end of the Napoleonic wars Britain was a mono-polar superpower of a far greater extent than the USA is a superpower today, indeed the USA has only had (and will only have) about twenty years of being the sole super-power as both China and the European Union are currently rising to be at least economic super-powers.

Also the USA is unlikely to have the same kind of graceful fall that Britain had. The USA has never been an empire, Britains fall was that of a gradually eroding empire - with its edges wearing away until only the heart was left. The USA doesn't have edges to wear.

On topic however, this could be good news for Japan. There is almost no denying that the LDP had become ridiculously stagant - a spell in opposition will give them opportunity to refresh and reposition for the next election.

europe is dead too.

I think everyone is somewhat overstating Japans economic problems. Remember, this country is still the second largest economy in the world despite these problems.

I disagree about the influence, most of what the British Empire did only influenced the countries inside the empire, which at peak, was around 25% of the globe - most of the empire was based on coastal countries as well due to the fact that most of its military dominance lied in the Royal Navy. American influence spreads to all four corners of the globe, and, for the most part, is optional - lots of nations let America "in" so to speak because it generally benefits them in a good way (particularly in the Western world) - which is why I believe the fall will be graceful, as it will be slowly replaced by nations turning to BRIC economies and EU over the space of decades, rather then being ended rather abruptly like the German Empires and Imperial Japan.