Japanese PM Abe calls snap election amid rising North Korean tensions

Promised ¥2trn education package

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called a snap general election a year early, meaning parliament will dissolve on Thursday.

He said he was seeking a fresh mandate to overcome "a national crisis" as the threat from North Korea grows. The Prime Minister said his key policies were to overcome the North Korean "crisis", where tensions have been rising since Pyongyang launched a number of missiles over Japan, and to spend on higher education. As one of his policies, Abe announced a ¥2trn stimulus package on social spending and education, which will be paid for through his promise to raise consumption tax from 8% to 10% as planned in 2019, according to the BBC. Redwood: Are Abe's arrows hitting the mark? A...