On Sunday, voters in Japan ousted the Liberal Democratic Party, which has been in power for more than 50 years.

What was the party’s response, you might wonder?

Today Japan’s prime minister, Tarō Asō, said that he will step down and take the blame for the loss. In his contrite speech, he took responsibility for his party’s failure to address the Japan’s social disparity and economic woes.

I find it difficult to imagine a politician in almost any other country humbling himself like this, and so publicly admitting defeat.

Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could use a lesson from this book.