Abe Says He'll Decide on Snap Japan Election After U.S. Trip

  • Local reports say vote could be held as early as Oct. 22
  • Prime minister’s support has risen on handling of North Korea

Shinzo Abe

Photographer: Akio Kon/Bloomberg
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he’ll decide on calling a snap election after he returns from a trip to the U.S., confirming media reports that he was considering calling a vote more than a year early.

“I’ll refrain from answering each and every question about a dissolution of parliament, but I’d like to decide when I return to Japan,” Abe told reporters at Haneda airport before boarding a plane to New York, in comments broadcast by NHK. He’s scheduled to attend meetings at the United Nations before returning to Japan on Sept. 22.