Japan PM Dissolves Lower House for Oct. 31 National Election

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (C), and other lawmakers give three cheers after dissolving the lower house, the more powerful of the two parliamentary chambers, during an extraordinary Diet session at the lower house of parliament in Tokyo, on Oct. 14, 2021. Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo

TOKYO—Japan’s new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida dissolved the lower house of parliament on Thursday, paving the way for elections on Oct. 31 that will be Japan’s first of the pandemic.

At stake will be how Japan faces a potential COVID-19 resurgence and revives its battered economy, and if or how Kishida’s government can leave the shadow of the nearly nine years of Abe-Suga rule some describe as dominating to the point of muzzling diverse views.