Party Leaders Make Final Pitches for By-Elections Sun.

Matsue, Shimane Pref./Tokyo, April 27 (Jiji Press)--Leaders of Japan's ruling and opposition parties made final pitches on Saturday, ahead of Sunday's three by-elections for the House of Representatives, in which voters are likely to focus on the issue of politics and money in the wake of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's "slush fund" scandal.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, also president of the LDP, visited the western city of Matsue, the capital of Shimane Prefecture, on Saturday to deliver a campaign speech for the LDP's candidate in the Shimane No. 1 constituency.

"I must spearhead" efforts to revise the political funds control law in response to the LDP scandal, Kishida stressed in the street speech. Referring to his government's initiatives on wage increases and child benefits, he said, "We are aiming for a Japan where wages and incomes are higher tomorrow than yesterday."

In the Shimane constituency, the LDP candidate is in a one-on-one battle with the candidate of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.

CDP leader Kenta Izumi also visited Matsue on Saturday. "The battle in Shimane is a starting point for political reform," he told reporters. "We will advance political reform by saying 'no' to the LDP's proposal (on revising the funds control law)."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]