The Japanese Prime Minister, Mr Yoshiro Mori, already under attack after a string of controversial remarks in the past few weeks, headed into trouble again yesterday after telling undecided voters to sleep through Sunday's general election.
Surveys show voters are likely to hand Mr Mori's three-way ruling coalition a victory, even though his own popularity is sagging to lows virtually unprecedented for a prime minister heading into elections.
However, with a large proportion of voters still undecided - possibly more than 40 per cent - and with the elections just four days away, the electorate could still spring a surprise on their rugby-playing Prime Minister.
Mr Mori, on the campaign trail in northern Japan, said on Tuesday: "They say some 40 percent of the voters are still undecided. Those people who aren't interested should just stay in bed."
Although he later said he really meant that voters should carefully consider their choice, critics swiftly pounced on the comments, saying it was irresponsible for the leader of a democracy to encourage citizens not to vote.
"This is worse than the `divine nation' remark in terms of denying democratic principles," said Mr Yukio Hatoyama, head of the main opposition Democratic party. "It is the duty of a prime minister to encourage the entire nation to go to the polls."
Mr Mori last month called Japan a "divine nation with the emperor at its core", reviving disturbing memories of the imperialism that pushed its armies into war across Asia.
The Democrats said Mr Mori's ruling bloc - led by his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) - appeared afraid of uncommitted voters. And perhaps with reason.
History shows that the larger the turnout the worse the LDP fares. In a 1998 election for the upper house of parliament the turnout jumped to 59 per cent from 44 per cent three years earlier and the LDP suffered a resounding defeat that forced the government from office.
At least half of all voters may not support a particular party. And with an electorate numbering 100 million of Japan's 123 million population, that is no small number that Mr Mori hopes will stay in bed.
LDP lawmaker and Vice-Finance Minister Mr Yoshimasa Hayashi said Mr Mori's latest comment was being blown out of proportion. "Thank God for Japanese voters," he said. "They judge not on the Prime Minister's remarks, but on economic and other policies."
Newspaper surveys show Mr Mori's coalition could win at least a stable majority of the seats in the 480-seat lower house, enough to dominate legislative business and to ensure the safety of his own job.
Mr Hayashi warned against over-confidence, saying surveys often prompt voters to change their minds. "In 1996 (general elections), we thought we would maybe win some 260 seats, but we ended up with only 239. We must be very careful."
Surveys yesterday showed voters could flock to the polls. The conservative newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun said 78 per cent of respondents planned definitely to vote, while a Nihon Keizai Shimbun poll found 90 per cent planned to turn out, well above the 60 per cent turnout in the last election .
A nationwide survey published by Kyodo news agency showed that 33 percent of respondents remained uncommitted, up three percentage points from a similar survey conducted shortly before the October 1996 general election.
Many uncommitted voters are anti-LDP, and analysts say a turnout of 60 per cent or more could be bad news for the party that has dominated politics nearly uninterrupted since 1955.
Others, though, said the rate would need to climb above 70 per cent to change the political landscape.