Abe calls snap polls, unveils 2t yen economic package

Tokyo

JAPAN'S Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he'll dissolve the lower house of parliament on Sept 28 for a general election as he announced an US$18 billion economic package.

At a press conference on Monday, Mr Abe unveiled a slew of economic measures including more education spending. He said he'd pay for them with funds from a consumption tax increase originally intended to rein in the nation's swollen debt. He also spoke about the need to keep up pressure on North Korea after Kim Jong Un's regime fired two missiles over Japan in recent weeks.

"To increase investment in future generations, I decided today to change the way we had promised to use the sales tax," Mr Ab…