Eight years is a long time in Japanese politics and people are quick to forget, but things were vastly different then.

In summer 2009, the Democratic Party of Japan won a sweeping victory against the Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito ruling coalition in the Lower House election, exciting voters and political observers with the emergence of a new campaign tool modeled on the British-style "manifesto" concept of promises backed by clear financial sources and specific deadlines.

Before the 2000s, Japanese political parties tended to repeat pat slogans and avoid making concrete promises.