TOKYO, Japan: The Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has dissolved the parliament, paving the way for fresh elections which are expected in mid-December.
The announcement was made by the speaker of the House of Representatives Bunmei Ibuki to the chamber on Friday.
The move to dissolve the lower house of the parliament by the prime minister is being seen an attempt by him to seek a new mandate for economic reforms.
The Japanese premier also plans to delay an unpopular sales tax increase by 18 month from October 2015 to April 2017.
The East Asian country was to hold parliamentary elections after two years as per schedule but now it is going to hold polls next month.
It is expected that Abe will win the parliamentary elections and secure another four-year term because the country’s current opposition is lacking unity.
His cabinet will hold an emergency meeting later on Friday to confirm that next elections will be held on December 14.
Meanwhile in a statement, Shinzo Abe said that he will fight hard in a looming general election shortly after the dissolution of the parliament’s lower house.
The Japanese prime minister said that his decision to dissolve the lower house aims at letting the Japanese public to judge his choice to delay the second round sales tax hike, according to Xinhua.
