The past two House of Councilors elections, in 2007 and 2010, saw opposition forces win big against the ruling parties of the time. But the trend is almost certain to end this time around.
All signs indicate the July 21 poll will see a repetition of last month's one-sided Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, with too little time left for the opposition camp to revive their comatose support ratings or for the ruling coalition to make a critical slip.
But despite wooing the public with radical economy-boosting measures, questions remain as to whether another resounding victory by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which would give it full control of the Diet, should be taken as a complete vote of confidence in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's contentious policies.