Election campaigners in Japan (Kanako Otsuji and a campaign car for Councillors election, 2007) Image from Flickr user m-louis CC BY-SA 2.0

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has dissolved the Lower House of Japan's parliament and called a snap election for mid-December.

The snap election comes after Japan's economy officially slid into recession on Monday, November 17.

国家衰退の道から日本を救う最後のチャンスが今度の選挙にかかっている（筆者マイケル・オースリン氏）⇒【オピニオン】衆院選で安倍敗北なら長期衰退に http://t.co/u1WKlsvpyD（AP） pic.twitter.com/3V3mehNTC0

— ウォール・ストリート・ジャーナル日本版 (@WSJJapan) November 19, 2014

This may be the last chance to save Japan from national decline, says Michael Auslin [Opinion, English article here] “If Abe defeated in upcoming parliamentary elections, all hope for reform lost.” (Wall Street Journal).

It has been two years since the last Japanese election returned Abe and Japan's Liberal Democratic Party to the government. Under his current mandate, Abe still had more than another two years, until 2017, to call the next election.

Abe says his decision to call a snap election is about seeking a mandate to delay a planned sales tax increase, which now would further slow the economy.

A preliminary sales tax increase this past spring is already considered the chief culprit for Japan's current economic contraction.

Another possible motivation for calling a snap election is the current disarray of Japan's opposition parties, making them weak opponents in the immediate future.

While some commentators are calling Abe's move “self-serving”, others think Abe is facing political oblivion anyway and that the snap election may be the spark that reignites Japan's moribund opposition.

In Japan, there are some complaints that election coverage so far ignores the big picture:

え？日本のメディアは景気後退って言わないの？

— kazukazu88 (@kazukazu881) November 17, 2014

Wha? Why is there no mention of Japan's recession in the media?

Many prominent Twitter commentators are wondering if the election has swept under the rug the main story: Japan's faltering economy.

日本のメディアでは、景気を「足踏み」と書くが、世界のメディアは既に「リセッション（景気後退）」と書いている。 この差で個人投資家は大損ばかりさせられている。#fx #nhk #nisa #nikkei #nhk #株 — snowpeak70 (@snowpeak70) November 18, 2014

In the Japanese media, the economy is “just ticking along”, but elsewhere in the world the story is “Japan is now in recession.” This gap in perception is slaughtering individual investors. #fx #nhk #nisa #nikkei #nhk #stocks

むしろこの景気後退が想定外とするメディアの報道に驚く — Dr. Wiston O'Boogie (@pelecyan) November 17, 2014

I'm more astonished that the media itself seems surprised that this recession somehow came out of the blue.

内閣支持率が高くて、野党がボロボロで、消費税増税延期をダシにして絶対勝てる選挙を行い、その結果として消費税増税延期の国民の承認を得て自分の責任を回避するとは。安倍さんも「お主も悪よのう」ですな。 — Ito (@y__ito) November 19, 2014

Seeking a mandate to delay raising the consumption tax is just a pretext. With the Cabinet approval rating is still high, and Opposition parties still in disarray, Abe is holding an election he is certain to win. He'll then use the mandate to say that it's the public that wants to hold off on raising the consumption tax, rather than admitting that Abenomics is a failure.

Other voices recognize what appears to be Abe's pure pragmatism:

多分、安倍さんはあと2年じゃやりたいこと出来へんって思ったから確実に選挙に勝てる今のうちに解散して、内閣の期間を伸ばしたんかな — 孤刃（コノハ）@魔理沙love (@evangerionpokem) November 18, 2014

With just over two years left in his current mandate, Abe probably realizes he doesn't have enough time to do all the things he wants to do. So, dissolve the Diet and extend the life of his government.

あ、なるほど、絶対に勝てる今衆議院選挙すれば、あと四年安定政権ができるのか。 #nhk24 — yasu_kobayashi (@yasu_kobayashi) November 18, 2014

Ah, I get it! Abe is bound to win the upcoming election, which gives his government another four more years of political stability.

Japan's recession and snap election are competing in the news with another major story: Japan is experiencing a butter shortage.