The House of Representatives was dissolved at the beginning of the Extraordinary Diet session today.  Towards the general election held on 22 October, the ruling and opposition parties will go into a fierce battle for the house's 475 seats.  The surprise move of the Democratic Party to be merged to the newly formed party,  "Party of Hope" led by Tokyo Governor Koike, gets the whip-hand over the wild election. For more details, please see the article by Bloomberg.