Official campaigning for the Dec. 14 Lower House election started Tuesday, but voter enthusiasm remains low.

The boring, abstract policy pledges by the major parties may be at least partially responsible for the lack of voter engagement.

When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, dissolved the Lower House, he stated that he needed voters to endorse his decision to postpone the planned consumption tax hike to 10 percent next year.