TOKYO, Nov. 18 -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday told a meeting of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party that the House of Representatives, or the lower house in the Diet, will be dissolved, the Koydo news agency reported.

The prime minister will hold a press conference at around 7 p.m. local time (1000 GMT) and is expected to announce the decision during the press briefing, in which Abe may also delay the second round of sales tax hike to be carried out in October 2015.

The planned consumption tax hike is expected to be postponed until April 2017 when there is no general election, according to local reports.