Ishiba to Visit Disaster-Hit Noto Peninsula on Sat.

Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)--New Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba plans to visit the Noto Peninsula on Saturday after the central Japan area was damaged by an earthquake on Jan. 1 and heavy rain late last month, people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

The trip by Ishiba, president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, to the peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture will be the first since he was elected prime minister on Tuesday.

Keiichi Ishii, leader of Komeito, the LDP's coalition partner, and Yoshihiko Noda, head of the major opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, also plan to visit the peninsula separately on Saturday, their first trip there since they assumed the posts last month.

The three leaders are expected to show their determination to work hard to support recovery and reconstruction from the disasters ahead of a general election on Oct. 27.

While Ishiba has proposed using reserve funds to pay the costs of restoring the area from heavy rain damage, Noda has called for enacting a supplementary budget.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]