Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Wednesday he plans to dissolve the Lower House on Friday and schedule the general election for Dec. 16.
Noda made the offer in return for the opposition camp's agreement to support an electoral reform bill submitted by his Democratic Party of Japan, when the Diet reconvenes in January.
"If you can make that decision, I think I could dissolve the Lower House on the 16th," he told Liberal Democratic Party chief Shinzo Abe during a one-on-one debate session in the Diet.