(VOVworld) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has dissolved the lower house of Japan's parliament, paving the way for a general election next month.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (Photo: AFP)

The election campaign will start on December 2 nationwide. The snap polls in December will test Abe's struggling economic policies, often dubbed as 'Abenomics', in the wake of worrying signs for the Japanese economy.

The election on December 14 follows Abe’s decision to postpone a planned sales tax increase after data released Monday showed the economy had slipped into recession. He is portraying the election as a referendum on his economic revitalization policies, known as Abenomics, and the postponement of the tax hike — from the current 8 percent to 10 percent — that had been set for next October.