Japan Party Leaders Make Final Pitches on Eve of Election

Politics

Tokyo, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)--Japanese political party leaders on Saturday made their final campaign pitches ahead of Sunday's general election, which will determine whether the ruling Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito coalition can maintain its majority in the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of the Diet.

The issue of politics and money took center stage during the election campaign, following the LDP's high-profile "slush fund" scandal. Although the party did not officially endorse candidates involved in the scandal, it has been revealed that the party provided funds not only to its official candidates, but also to party branches of scandal-tainted candidates.

"We must put an end to politics that fools citizens," Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, stressed in a stump speech outside JR Shibuya Station in Tokyo. "It's quite possible that the LDP and Komeito will lose their majority if voter turnout is high," Noda pointed out.

In the city of Kodaira, western Tokyo, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, also president of the LDP, claimed that opposition parties are in complete disarray over their policies. "We cannot leave the country to them," Ishiba said. "The LDP-Komeito coalition is the only option that guarantees our country's independence and peace."

Speaking on the street in Tokyo's Koto Ward later in the day, Ishiba underscored the need to achieve wage growth that outpaces inflation.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]

Jiji Press