Japan Govt Decides to Dissolve Lower House

Tokyo, Oct. 9 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government decided at an extraordinary cabinet meeting Wednesday morning to dissolve the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, later on the day.

The Lower House is scheduled to be dissolved at a plenary meeting set to begin at 3:30 p.m. Ahead of that, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will face opposition party leaders in a parliamentary debate.

After the developments, the government is expected to decide to hold the Lower House election Oct. 27 after candidacy registrations Tuesday, which mark the start of the election campaign period.

The primary focus will be whether public trust in politics can be restored after it was damaged by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's slush fund scandal.

"In order to have our administration trusted, I'd like to face the election with integrity and sincerity," Ishiba told reporters in the morning.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]