Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe
has dissolved the lower house of the parliament ahead of a snap election.
The poll, announced on Monday and which comes a year early, will
take place on 22 October.
Abe is seeking a fresh mandate amid
a rebound in his approval ratings and the ongoing North Korea nuclear crisis. The right-wing hawk became prime
minister in 2012, and his Liberal Democrat Party, LDP, leads a ruling coalition
that controls the Diet.
His call for a snap election was
seen as taking advantage of a weak opposition, and the LDP is still leading in
opinion polls. He now faces a new contender in the
form of the fledgling conservative Party of Hope, led by popular Tokyo governor
Yuriko Koike.
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