Mayors and governors questioned Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's dissolution of the House of Representatives on Friday, noting that the move will hamper the government's ability to address other urgent issues, such as the need to prop up regional economies and rebuild disaster-hit areas.
"Now is not the time to dissolve the Lower House," said second-term Aomori Mayor Hiroshi Shikanai, who won re-election as an independent. "We're faced with issues that require cooperation between the central and local governments, such as measures to boost regional economies and fight population decline, but the election will create a vacuum."
Abe has called an election for Dec. 14 to seek a national assessment of "Abenomics," his economic policy mix of radical monetary easing, fiscal stimulus and vows of structural reform. Many feel the policies' effects aren't trickling down to mainstream Japanese.