This is the 15th general election I have witnessed since coming to live in Japan in 1967, and by any standards it is the most crucial one of those for this country.
Only once before have I regarded an upcoming general election in the same way, and that was in 2009. On that occasion, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which had had a virtual monopoly in government for more than half a century, was ousted by the seemingly more progressive Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).
But alas, as has become all too clear, the emphasis was on "seemingly" rather than "progressive"; and the country is now faced with two iconic issues that were not to the fore in the last election: the continuance or abandonment of nuclear energy; and the status and future role of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF).