Tariffs are far down the list of priorities for Japanese voters ahead of Upper House elections that might upend the political landscape in Japan.

Only 8% of 1,913 voters surveyed by NHK from June 11 to June 13 said that tariffs were their top concern.

The cost of living, social insurance and demographic issues were far more important to them despite Japan being locked in a brutal trade war with the United States over high tariffs put into place and planned by U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Of course, the Trump tariffs do have a significant indirect effect, and if the Japanese economy worsens because of them, wages could fall and things would get tough,” said Yu Uchiyama, a political science professor at the University of Tokyo.

“But since that impact is indirect, I think it just doesn’t attract as much public concern as issues with a more immediate effect — and that’s a big factor.”

The NHK survey found that 29% put “social insurance and the declining birth rate” at the top of their list of concerns when considering candidates, while 28% prioritized “measures to address rising rice prices and inflation.”

According to surveys by NHK and others, the Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito coalition could lose its majority in the July 20 vote. This could lead to a period of political instability as new coalition partners are sought and wooed and might lead to the resignation of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

Hanako Ohmura, a professor at Kyoto University specializing in public opinion and voting behavior, said cash giveaways and other subsidies from the government and concerns about foreign residents in Japan took center stage during campaigning.

The Liberal Democratic Party in June pledged cash handouts of ¥20,000 ($135) for everyone and ¥40,000 for children and low-income households and individuals, while some opposition parties favored consumption tax cuts to fight rising costs.

“Especially in the case of cash handouts or exemptions from certain payments, these are considered powerful campaign tools,” Ohmura said. “When it comes to those indirect effects, I think only a limited number of people really understand them."

“That doesn’t mean voters lack the ability to make judgments about the economy, economic policy or economic performance. Rather, it's more that external economic issues are difficult to connect to everyday life,” she continued. “No matter how we look at it, it’s just hard for voters to draw a direct line between these foreign economic issues and their own circumstances.”

Under the Trump tariffs, most Japanese goods exported to the United States are subject to a 10% duty — which is set to rise to 25% on Aug. 1 — while vehicles and auto parts are tariffed 25% and steel and aluminum 50%.

Politicians did their best to make these tariffs and intense negotiations over them an issue.

“This is a battle for our national interest. Like hell we'll let them push us around,” Ishiba said last week.

Opposition leaders have frequently criticized the government’s fruitless trade talks with the United States. Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, ridiculed Ishiba’s change in tone as the election neared.

“It just sounds like barking from afar. Saying tough things domestically won’t accomplish anything,” he said during a stump speech in Gifu Prefecture last week, according to the Asahi Shimbun.

Public opinion surveys show the approval rating for Ishiba’s Cabinet steadily dropped from June, and it's possible that attacks on Ishiba’s tariff response have led to declining support for the LDP, Uchiyama said.

“After all, despite Minister Akazawa going to the U.S. almost every week, the negotiations don’t seem to be making any progress, so it’s only natural for the opposition to criticize that,” he said.

“That said, the opposition hasn’t actually come up with any concrete or constructive proposals for a better negotiation strategy. They just couldn’t.”

Ohmura doubts that the attacks carry any weight at this stage of the campaign. The opposition parties might have had a good opportunity to capitalize on the issue in early April, when Trump’s tariff announcements shocked the world and the stock market started to fluctuate, she said.

“But now, especially when it comes to the Trump tariffs, the U.S. administration has introduced so many tariff-related topics that — well, I wouldn’t say people have grown numb to them, but both the public and the markets, and even the media, have gotten used to this pattern,” she said.

“If the opposition had taken a more offensive stance earlier — say, back in April or May when the initial reaction was still fresh — it might have been more effective. But now, even if they try to use the tariffs as an attack point, I think it doesn’t carry much weight anymore.”