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TOKYO, Oct. 30-- Seiji Maehara, head of the collapsing Democratic Party (DP) of Japan, resigned on Monday over his fatal decision to merge his party with the Party of Hope before the lower house election on Oct. 22, which effectively split up the opposition forces and offered the ruling camp a comfortable win. The DP, once the main opposition party of Japan, accepted Maehara's resignation on Monday and was set to elect a new leader on Tuesday, while Maehara said he will leave the DP and join the Party of Hope after the resignation. Maehara, elected as leader of the DP in September, decided to effectively merge the Democratic Party with the Party of Hope led by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dissolved the lower house on Sept. 28 for a snap election. | 
