TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba dissolved the lower house of parliament on Wednesday for a snap election on Oct. 27 as he seeks to win a mandate for his new government despite withering public support for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in the wake of a damaging political fundraising scandal.
The dissolution came on the final day of a short extraordinary session of the Diet and a mere eight days after Ishiba was elected prime minister by lawmakers -- the shortest span of time since the end of World War II. Official election campaigning is set to kick off on Oct. 15 with all 465 lower house members defending their seats.
