If anything, Sunday's House of Councilors election will probably be remembered for the clarity of the issues voters were being called on to judge.
Fresh in voters' minds as they headed to the polls were the contentious government pension reform plan and its decision to place the Self-Defense Forces contingent deployed to Iraq in a multinational force.
For many people interviewed by The Japan Times, the election seemed to be an opportunity to show their dissatisfaction with the Liberal Democratic Party-led government.