Japan calls snap elections for December

(Vatican Radio) A day after Japan slipped into recession, the government there is calling a snap election, calling it a referendum on its efforts to boost the economy with measures such as getting more women into the workforce.

Listen to Alastair Wanklyn’s report:

Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe also announced a delay to an unpopular tax hike. 

He said the election would be a referendum on his economic policies measures that range from monetary easing to telling companies to put more women in management. He also wants to set up better childcare facilities so that mothers can return to work.

The ruling coalition here enjoys a roughly 45-percent approval rating, despite problems such as a weakening currency putting up the price of fuel and imports. 

Some political analysts say the timing is important, because a few months from now the prime minister may lose popularity when he begins to restart nuclear power plants after a near-three-year outage. The population is broadly against reactor restarts, fearing another Fukushima disaster.

A strong showing in the December 14th poll would give Abe's government a new four-year mandate.