Abe calls snap Japan poll, delays tax hike

 TOKYO: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday he was calling a snap election and delaying an expected sales tax rise after figures showed Japan was in recession.
Less than two years after he swept to power pledging to reinvigorate the flagging economy, Abe will go to the polls—probably in the middle of next month—telling voters that more needs to be done to fix years of growth-sapping price declines.
“I will dissolve the lower chamber on (November) 21st,” Abe told a news conference.
He did not give a date for the election, which was not due until 2016, but the media consensus is that it will be Sunday, December 14, according to a news agency.