Japanese PM Shinzo Abe calls snap election Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday he would delay a planned rise in the nation's sales tax to 10 per cent till April 2017 and call a snap election to seek a fresh mandate, just two years after taking office. The economy unexpectedly slipped into recession in the third quarter, data released on Monday showed, a sign the pain from an initial rise in the sales tax to 8 per cent from 5 per cent in April was lasting longer than expected. Mr Abe said he would dissolve parliament on November 21. No general election need be held until late 2016. But political insiders say Mr Abe - who returned to power in December 2012 pledging to fix the economy with his "Abenomics" strategy of ultra-loose monetary policy, spending and reforms - wants to lock in his mandate while his ratings are relatively high and before tackling unpopular policies next year. He did not give a date for the election, but the media consensus is that it will be on Sunday, December 14. A growing clamour has been heard over recent months to suspend part two of the tax rise, to 10 per cent, which was due for October. "Today, I reached a conclusion that I will not raise the consumption tax to 10 per cent in October next year... and that it should be delayed by 18 months," he said. But in an apparent nod to the fiscal hawks in his finance ministry who say Japan has to get a handle on its national debt, he pledged the tax rise will be implemented. "It will never happen that the government will postpone the next tax raise again after 18 months," he said. After postponing for 18 months I intend to raise the tax for sure, regardless of economic conditions, which is a significant change. We need to ask the approval of the people for this change [by calling an election]. Ignoring criticism that he is currying favour with voters, Mr Abe has ordered his ministers to compile a fresh economic stimulus package, including measures to ease the impact of rising import prices. Opposition parties, who are still in disarray after their 2012 drubbing, will hope to capitalise on the difficulties faced by voters whose wages are at a standstill while prices rise. "It is clear that Abenomics has not had any positive impact on people's life at all," said Banri Kaieda, head of the largest opposition Democratic Party of Japan. Yoshiki Yamashita, a Communist Party lawmaker, said "Abenomics merely expanded the gap" between the haves and the have-nots. But commentators across the spectrum agree that Mr Abe, who enjoys approval ratings of around 50 per cent, is likely to stroll home in the popular vote. They point out that the premier's real target is rivals within his own fractious LDP. "I suppose Prime Minister Abe concluded that it's the best timing to extend his premiership," said Shinichi Nishikawa, professor of politics at Meiji University in Tokyo. "But the prospects for his decision are still uncertain," Nishikawa said. It may come at a price, depending upon election results. A new mandate would bolster Mr Abe's case for pushing ahead with the re-starting of nuclear reactors -- an unpopular idea in a nation scarred by the 2011 Fukushima disaster. It would also strengthen Mr Abe's hand on pet issues like reforming Japan's view of its 20th century warmongering, which he and other right-wingers say is masochistic.