Politically speaking, the upcoming Upper House election is a huge deal for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. After all, it's a vote that could determine the fate of his long-held ambition to amend the postwar pacifist Constitution.
But voters, it seems, see Sunday's poll as anything but crucial.
Surveys have pointed to lukewarm public interest in the race, prompting some political observers to predict Abe will survive the July 21 election relatively unscathed, benefiting yet again from his familiar recipe for victory: low voter turnout.