Japan's PM Abe dissolves Parliament, calls snap elections

TOKYO, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced plans to dissolve Japan's House of Representatives on Friday and called Tuesday for snap elections to be held next month.

Abe's actions follow the surprise announcement on Monday that Japan is in an economic recession. Japan's gross domestic product fell in the third quarter of 2014 which, coupled with a second quarter decline, indicated a technical recession.

During a press conference Tuesday, Abe announced "I will dissolve the lower house on 21 [November]" and moved up elections a full two years. Abe explained that his actions are an attempt "to make sure Abenomics will succeed."

Japan increased sales tax from five to eight percent in April in an attempt to generate extra income to meet rising social security costs. But the public responded to the tax hike by reducing consumption, contributing to an economic downturn.

"I decided today that I will not raise the consumption tax to 10 percent in October next year as stated by law, but postpone it by 18 months," Abe announced Tuesday, explaining "To raise the consumer tax by another 2 percent from next October will push down consumer spending again and could jeopardize our attempts to pull our economy out of deflation."

By dissolving the lower house and calling for snap elections, Abe is attempting to muster a majority in the House that will give him an additional two years to address the economic crisis. "He's going to return to power with a majority," Koichi Nakano, a political scientist at Sophia University, told the Washington Post. "Perhaps it will be slightly reduced, but it will still be a majority."