This article is from the source 'independent' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/japan-election-snap-shinzo-abe-vote-dissolves-lower-house-parliament-latest-a7965476.html
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Japan election: Shinzo Abe calls snap vote and dissolves lower house of parliament | Japan election: Shinzo Abe calls snap vote and dissolves lower house of parliament |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced he will dissolve the country's lower house of parliament and call national elections next month. | |
| Mr Abe, who has held for power for five years, is looking to capitalise on improved ratings and opposition disarray. | |
| The more powerful house in Japan's two-chamber parliament will be dissolved on Thursday when it convenes after a three-month summer recess, he announced. | |
| The snap election will be held on October 22. | |
| The announcement came after Mr Abe's approval ratings rebounded to 50 per cent from a record low of 30 per cent in July. | |
| His image as a strong leader is thought to have bolstered support amid rising tensions over North Korea, overshadowing allegations of cronyism that had eroded his popularity. | |
| Mr Abe said the election would not distract his government from responding to North Korean threats, pledging to increase pressure if Pyongyang failed to halt its missile and nuclear weapons development. | |
| Opposition MPs said the election was unnecessary. | |
| Tokyo's governor announced she was launching a new political party to challenge Mr Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party in the elections. | |
| Yuriko Koike said she the Hope Party would stand candidates in some of the 475 seats in the lower house. | |
| Ms Koike's regional Tokyoites First no Kai group won a landslide victory in the city assembly election in July, dealing a major blow to Mr Abe's scandal-plagued ruling party. | |
| Support for Mr Abe's party has since rebounded, helped by his Cabinet reshuffle last month and fading scandals during the parliament's recess. | |
| He is expected to put education and childcare spending pledges, staying tough on North Korea, and revising the constitution at the forefront of his election campaign. | |
| North Korea has fired two intercontinental ballistic missiles over Japan and tested a hydrogen bomb in the past month. |