A tax-hike-induced recession has shaken confidence in Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic policies, but voters in one of Tokyo's poorest neighborhoods feel there's no option but to drink the Abe-flavored Kool-Aid as Sunday's elections approach.
The consumption tax hike "is really hurting," said Kiyoshi Hayashi, a storeowner in Tokyo's 14th district - one of the city's poorest. "There are fewer shoppers, and they are spending less. If you aren't rich, you're worse off."
"But there's no choice" other than Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), he said, highlighting a lack of alternatives as the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), the largest opposition party, remains weak.
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In November, Abe called the second election in two years after data showed the impact of a consumption sales tax hike to 8 percent from 5 percent in April tipped Japan into a recession. He delayed a second sales tax increase to 10 percent, initially scheduled for October 2015, by 18 months, calling Abenomics - the prime minister's effort to spur Japan's economy - into question.
The most recent opinion poll from the Mainichi newspaper showed that 70 percent of respondents don't think the prime minister's policies have made the economy any better, yet the ruling party looks set to win in a landslide on Sunday.
"Abe seems to be winning his cynical gamble by calling a premature and unnecessary snap election," said Koichi Nakano, professor of politics at Sophia University in Tokyo.
The trickle down promise
"The effects of Abenomics will trickle down to small and medium-sized businesses," the 14th district's sitting LDP candidate, Midori Matsushima, promised followers at a party supporters' rally on Wednesday. Around 20 percent of voters here are small business owners.
Local media is closely watching the race because, despite nationally leading the polls, the LDP incumbent - a former justice minister who resigned over allegations of violating election laws by distributing paper fans - is seen to be struggling to recover from the scandal.
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With the economy also working against Matsushima and the LDP, her supporters claimed that headline figures on the economy are misleading. One supporter that preferred to remain anonymous told CNBC, "The media is being too pessimistic. The economy will grow from next year."
Whether the numbers are debatable or not, local business owners are feeling the pinch.