Oct. 9 (UPI) -- The new Japanese prime minister on Wednesday dissolved the Diet's lower House now setting the stage for a general election in a few short weeks as the Liberal Democratic Party clings to power. Also on Wednesday, the ruling LDP withdrew its 12 official endorsements of lawmakers who had been implicated in a political financial scandal that has drawn the attention of the Japanese public. Advertisement The announcement that Prime Minister Shigero Ishiba was dissolving Japan's 465-