An online stunt by a student activist poking fun at the administration for calling a snap election has drawn sharp criticism from the prime minister.

Yamato Aoki, 20, set up a website purporting to be run by a 10-year-old boy, which he used to ask faux-naive questions about the government¡¯s actions and performance.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe weighed in on the stunt Tuesday, saying in a Facebook post that Aoki¡¯s feigning of childlike innocence was ¡°despicable.¡±

¡°I hope his deed is not part of some organized attempt to manipulate public opinion against me ahead of the election,¡± the post said.

The now defunct website was purported to be run by a schoolboy named Nakamura and was peppered with classroom-themed graphics. Titled Doshite Kaisan Surundesuka? (Why Dissolution?), it lampooned in child-speak everything from Abe¡¯s money-pumping ¡°Abenomics¡± policies to his sudden decision to call a snap election and his controversial state secrecy law.

¡°Hello, Mr. Prime Minister,¡± it said. ¡°Your so-called ¡®Abenomics¡¯ policy ¡ª wasn¡¯t it supposed to increase the nation¡¯s money? My allowance isn¡¯t getting any bigger.

¡°Why an election now? Oh, is that a secret too?¡±

By Saturday, the site had become a darling of Abe¡¯s political foes. The Democratic Party of Japan shared a link to it via the Twitter account for a virtual party mascot and went so far as to call the site¡¯s inventor a ¡°child prodigy.¡±

DPJ member Renho, who goes by only one name, lauded the website as representative of public bewilderment over Abe¡¯s decision to call an election two years before the terms of Lower House lawmakers were due to expire.

But the website¡¯s suspiciously savvy design and unnaturally childish choice of vocabulary soon triggered an online hunt for the poster¡¯s real identity.

On Saturday night, Aoki, a Keio University student, came forward and apologized on Twitter for deceiving his supporters.

¡°The so-called ¡®10-year-old Nakamura¡¯ is me,¡± he wrote.

He was motivated by a sense of bafflement at Abe¡¯s abrupt move Nov. 18 to dissolve the Lower House, Aoki wrote, adding that he wanted to do something to engage his fellow voters in a political conversation.

¡°By appearing to be a 10-year-old, I thought many people would be interested in what I¡¯m doing,¡± he wrote.

Aoki also announced Sunday that he would step down as representative of a nonprofit organization that aims to engage young people in politics.

Abe¡¯s Facebook post late Monday shared a link to a blog post on Hoshu Sokuho (Breaking News for Conservatives), a controversial website that compiles conservative threads from the popular online message board 2channel.