Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday announced his plan to dissolve parliament and call a snap election.
Shinzo Abe also said his decision to call a snap election would not distract his government from responding to North Korean threats, reports Reuters.
He pledged to increase pressure if Pyongyang failed to halt its missile and nuclear weapons development.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he would dissolve parliament's lower house on Thursday for a snap election, as he seeks a fresh mandate to overcome "a national crisis".
Abe, in power for five years, said he needed a mandate to shift some revenues from a planned future tax hike to social spending such as education, besides seeking support for a tough stance toward North Korea's repeated missile and nuclear tests.
"I will dissolve the lower house on Sept. 28," Abe told a nationally televised news conference on Monday.
Earlier, the head of Abe's junior coalition partner, Natsuo Yamaguchi, said he understood the election would be held on Oct. 22.
The decision is largely seen as aimed at taking advantage of Abe's recently improved support ratings and opposition disarray.
