Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, pressured by the opposition to honor his promise to go to the people "soon," dissolved the Lower House on Friday for a general election Dec. 16 that could result in his party being thrown out of power.
The election will come as Japan grapples with a slumping economy, fractious ties with China, new energy goals brought on by the Fukushima nuclear crisis and rebuilding the region devastated by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Noda's Democratic Party of Japan will be challenged by the Liberal Democratic Party, which is aiming to regain power after suffering a humiliating loss in the 2009 election.