In opposition, the Democratic Party of Japan vowed to stamp out the corruption and factional fighting that had paralysed the conservative regime.
Its leaders promised policies that would improve the lives of the public. They vowed to be answerable to voters and rebuild the nation - both socially and economically - and not repeat the failings of the political dinosaurs of the Liberal Democratic Party.
On August 30, the DPJ will have been in power for precisely 12 months, during which time it has squandered most of the goodwill and support that it had in the run-up to that general election.
It is telling that one of the newspapers that were so supportive of the DPJ in those heady days of last summer is close to despair today.
'What on earth are these people doing?' the Asahi newspaper asked in its editorial yesterday. 'Many voters must feel disgusted.'
And they do. But the biggest issue is not the continuing state of the economy or the failure to push through meaningful reforms.