Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made a risky move in deciding to call a snap general election and delay a planned consumption tax hike, according to a U.S.-based expert on Japan.
Sheila Smith, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations, said in a recent interview those decisions will diminish Abe's political capital, bring uncertainty into national politic's and could hamper future legislative goals of his administration.
She said the election may not lead to a greater consolidation of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito camp, which held a solid majority when the House of Representatives was dissolved Friday by Abe.