Dissolution of the House of Representative

Japanese political parties have effectively started their campaigns for a general election scheduled for August 30th.

On Tuesday morning, the Cabinet endorsed Prime Minister Taro Aso's decision to dissolve the House of Representatives.

In the afternoon, the chamber's speaker, Yohei Kono, reading from the Emperor's rescript countersigned by Aso and his Cabinet ministers, formally declared the House of Representatives dissolved.

Later, the Cabinet officially set the election for August 30th, with official campaigning due to start on August 18th.

The general election will be the first since September 2005 and the first since the Second World War to take place in August.

The Constitution says that a general election must be held within 40 days from the date of dissolution of the House of Representatives. This will be the first general election with 40 full days of campaigning.

The 4-year term of the dissolved chamber was to end on September 10th. Its members served 1,410 days, the second-longest amount since the end of World War Two. The longest period was from 1972 to 1976, when lawmakers served out their full 4-year term.

The focus of the election is on whether the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, New Komeito, will maintain a majority or the opposition led by the Democratic Party will take power.