Japan party leaders clash on economy in 1st weekend of election campaign

TOKYO - Japan's ruling and opposition party leaders offered competing plans for the economy on Saturday, the first weekend after official campaigning began for the Feb. 8 House of Representatives election earlier this week.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, head of the Liberal Democratic Party, pitched her "responsible yet aggressive" fiscal measures in Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan, while Yoshihiko Noda, co-leader of the new main opposition Centrist Reform Alliance, speaking in Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo, criticized her for prioritizing a snap election over passing the budget.