When Shinzo Abe took the podium just moments before he was fatally shot, the former prime minister was greeted by only a small crowd, reportedly in the low hundreds.
But the small attendance wasn't a snub.
Rather, addressing intimate crowds outside train stations, shopping centres and public squares is a common part of election campaigning in Japan.
The charmingly old-fashioned style of campaigning applies to anyone from the newest political aspirant to the most seasoned campaigner.
Mr Abe himself was at a nondescript intersection, right next to Yamato-Saidaiji station in the regional city of Nara, when he was brazenly gunned down metres from supporters.
"Intimate is certainly a good word to describe this aspect of election campaigning," Rob Fahey, an expert in Japanese politics and assistant professor at the Waseda Institute for Advanced Study, said.
"It's not uncommon to see just a dozen or so people turning up to listen to a speech, even by a government minister or other well-known figure."
But in the shadow of Mr Abe's brazen shooting, observers say there may be a rethink of these election traditions.
"People here definitely appreciate the fact that election campaigns bring politicians out to meet ordinary people on a regular basis, making politics feel more accessible and approachable," Mr Fahey said.
"There will certainly be hard questions asked about the security arrangements around senior politicians during these campaigns in the wake of the assassination."
As those conversations begin to take place, Mr Fahey says striking a balance between calls to enhance security and concerns about keeping politics open and accessible "will be extremely difficult".
How the assassination has shattered Japan's sense of security
There is a general feeling of safety in Japan, where gun violence and major disruptions at political rallies are incredibly rare.
Politicians and voters alike are familiar with intimate campaign events, which happen partly due to strict rules around political advertising, with candidates limited to specific timeslots in an effort to ensure fairness, Mr Fahey said.
But there is also a cultural component too, with Japanese voters wanting to see candidates "putting in the effort", Mr Fahey said.
Footage of the killing appears to show Mr Abe showing little concern after the gunman fired his first shot, which missed, before the second fatal shot.
As videos of the attack were widely circulated on social media, a deep sense of grief and anger that a former prime minister could be assassinated in front of a crowd full of people at a regular campaign event took hold in Japan.
"I'm in shock. I'm angry at the criminal who did this," one man told the ABC, after placing flowers at the site where the former prime minister was killed.
"I've never felt emotions like this before."
There are also questions being asked about why there was limited security around the former prime minister and why more wasn't done to protect him.
"How did the police, protective detail and other security not notice the criminal who approached with a gun from behind?" Toshio Tamogami, retired chief of staff for Japan's air force, tweeted.
Mr Fahey said he expected senior politicians would bring more security detail during public engagements, but low-level candidates would carry on business as usual.
That certainly appeared to be the case yesterday, as some candidates continued campaigning ahead of today's elections.
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has declared the elections needed to be conducted as planned to safeguard democracy.
Police allege accused gunman Tetsuya Yamagami admitted to stalking Mr Abe on the campaign trail as he planned his attack.
Mr Yamagami also allegedly planned to make explosives for the assassination, but changed to a makeshift gun when the initial plan failed.
With the investigation into the attack still ongoing, the chief of Nara police has refused to deny there were problems with Mr Abe's security detail.
However, James Brown, an academic at Temple University in Tokyo, said the security team "badly failed".
"From now on, politicians giving such campaign speeches will always feel vulnerable to similar attacks from behind," he said.
He said it was a good opportunity to embrace online campaigning, but he ultimately did not expect a fundamental shift from traditional face-to-face campaigning.
"The current system is so entrenched that I don't expect any fundamental shift," he said.
"More security precautions will certainly be needed though."
Despite the attempt to keep the parliamentary elections as normal as possible, for many in Japan, the death of Mr Abe has created a huge gulf.
