A number of opposition politician boycotted a session at which the lower house was dissolved to protest Mr. Abe's calling the election.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday called a sudden election, as fresh opinion polls showed a hatchling conservative party led by popular Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike was heading momentum ahead of the expected October 22 vote.
Mr. Abe, a conservative who returned to power in 2012, is hoping a heighten in his voter support in recent months will help his Liberal Democratic Party-led (LDP) alliance maintain a simple majority. It at present holds a two-thirds “super” majority. Koike's new Party of Hope — only formally launched on Wednesday — has turned over the election outlook after the former LDP member announced she would lead the group herself.
“This will be a hard-hitting battle, but it's all about how we will protect Japan, and the lives and peaceful existence of the Japanese people,” Mr. Abe told a group of policymakers. The cabinet will formally decide the date of the poll later on Thursday.
A number of opposition politician boycotted a session at which the lower house was dissolved to protest Mr. Abe's calling the election and creating a potential political vacuum at a time when tensions are sky-scraping with North Korea.
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