Japanese PM Dissolves Parliament Ahead of Early Elections

World | November 21, 2014, Friday // 17:04
Bulgaria: Japanese PM Dissolves Parliament Ahead of Early Elections Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during a news conference at the prime minister`s official residence in Tokyo, Japan, 21 November 2014, after dissolving the powerful lower house of parliament for snap elections in December. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe dissolved parliament on November 21, making the way for an early election in mid-December.

Abe has taken this controversial step to seek a new mandate for the government's economic reforms, reports the BBC.

His decision to call elections two years ahead of schedule remains unclear to most of the citizens, as proven by recent opinion polls which also revealed the low popularity of the Prime Minister.

According to a poll conducted by Kyodo News agency 63 % of respondents did not understand Abe's decision.

Another survey by Asahi Shimbun newspaper showed that the Prime Minister enjoyed the support of only 39 % of the people.

Despite these low numbers, Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) are expected to win the early elections because of the weak opposition.

The Prime Minister said that he will resign if the coalition holding the majority in the lower house of parliament fails to win a simple majority.

At the start of his mandate two years ago, Abe announced an ambitious economic plan, known as Abenomics, which achieved an initial increase in Japan's GDP.

However the economy gradually went downwards and Japan entered into a technical recession this quarter.

The situation worsened with an increase of the sales tax from 5 to 8 % in April in an attempt to curb Japan's public debt, but this backfired and scared consumers from spending.

Further increase of the sales tax to 10 % was scheduled for October 2015, but Abe announced that it will be delayed by at least 18 months.

 

 

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Tags: Japan, shinzo abe, early election, economy, sales tax, LDP

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