Well before voters go to the polls on Sunday, it has been widely forecast that voter turnout in the Lower House election will be low and likely renew the postwar low recorded in the previous race two years ago. Media surveys unanimously show that the ratio of people showing interest in the snap election, called by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe halfway through the four-year term of Lower House members, is far lower than in the last election.
The sluggish voter interest is generally attributed to the prospect that the splintered opposition camp will be no match for Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party — unlike in the last two elections in 2009 and 2012, which ushered in changes of government.
Opposition parties apparently were unprepared to take on the dominant LDP-Komeito alliance when Abe dissolved the Lower House in late November. They hurriedly coordinated their campaigns in many districts so that their candidates wouldn't compete against each other and thus benefit the LDP. In the 295 single-seat constituencies, the opposition parties, except the Japanese Communist Party, managed to agree on a single candidate in 194 districts in time for the start of the official campaign. Still, media forecasts indicate that the LDP-Komeito coalition will likely retain or even increase its dominant majority in the Diet.