On Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe decided to dissolve the Parliament on the day it reconvened for a session. The speaker of the house, Tadamori Oshima read Abe’s resolution in the lower house.
Abe’s decision to dissolve the 475 seats lower house is much earlier than the law states. The lower house has been closed and will reconvene only after the elections which will occur on the 22nd of October.
The House is elected for a four year term that should have ended in December 2018 but Abe decided to dissolve the house. The reason being Abe wants to strengthen his position in the House to be able to extend his term for another three years. Due to a few controversies, Abe’s rating dropped 30% earlier this year.
At present, Abe’s ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party holds two thirds of the majority but after the reelection, they hope to gain a stronger majority.
Abe was quoted saying, “This will be a tough battle, but it’s all about how we will protect Japan, and the lives and peaceful existence of the Japanese people.”
The main opposition party which is the Democratic Party has been struggling with just single digit rating. To make things worse they are left without any proper leadership after the existing chief resigned in July this year.
