Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dissolved the Lower House on Nov. 21 and set the general election for Dec. 14. He characterized the snap election as an election to seek people's fresh "mandate for Abenomics" — his set of policies designed for national economic recovery.
Abenomics has achieved some results in the financial, stock market and monetary fields. But its real effects on the real economy such as workers' wages and equipment investment are still unknown. In this sense, Abenomics is headed for a crucial stage involving the question of how much it can carry out the nation's pressing structural reforms.
• The first and foremost structural problem Japan needs to solve concerns its population structure. According to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, Japan's population, which stood at 128.05 million in 2010, will fall to 86.74 million in 2060 and 49.59 million in 2100.