Japan's election campaign period is too short for candidates to develop policies and make them known to voters, according to Robert F. Grondine, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan and a longtime Japan watcher.
This brevity creates the impression that political apathy is widespread among Japanese voters, according to Grondine, 48, who is also a partner at international law firm White & Case LLP.
"It's a strange conception to think anyone can properly develop any opinions and perspectives and actually develop debate about policy in two weeks, and that you can determine whom you would like to vote for," he said. "It's simply not possible."