MATSUE, SHIMANE PREF./TOKYO – 

Leaders of Japan's ruling and opposition parties made final pitches on Saturday, a day ahead of 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 Matsue, the capital of Shimane Prefecture, on Saturday to deliver a campaign speech for the LDP's candidate in the prefecture's No. 1 constituency.

"I must spearhead" efforts to revise the Political Funds Control Law in response to the LDP scandal, Kishida stressed in the 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."