The three ruling parties agreed Friday on joint campaign pledges for the upcoming Lower House election that include bringing forward public works projects and the creation of 500,000 jobs through the promotion of information and technology industries.

Details of the tripartite election pledges, the first of their kind compiled by the Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition, were officially announced Friday afternoon by the three parties' policy affairs chiefs.

LDP policy affairs chief Shizuka Kamei said that in the last general election in 1996, the three ruling parties -- the LDP, the Social Democratic Party and New Party Sakigake -- did not draw up a joint campaign pledge. He said that was one of the reasons for the coalition's breakup.

"We wanted to give a message that the three parties formed a coalition because we had common policies," said Kamei. "It's not because we needed to form a majority in the Diet."

The pledges include bringing forward public works projects scheduled for fiscal 2000, as well as the early spending of 500 billion yen reserved for public works projects in the current fiscal year's budget.

The ruling coalition will also promise to create 500,000 jobs by further promoting the information and technology industries.

To secure more employment, the Liberal Democratic Party, New Komeito and the New Conservative Party will also urge companies to let workers take longer holidays so the firms will need to hire alternative workers.

They will also pledge to lower the donation and inheritance tax systems.

On social issues, the ruling camp promises to reform the nation's school programs by focusing more on "moral education" among children. They will also consider ways to combat juvenile crime and improve the nation's police organization.

Hatoyama tiff stands

The ruling and opposition camps remained deeply divided Friday over the failed meeting Thursday between Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and Democratic Party of Japan leader Yukio Hatoyama.

At a morning press conference, Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Hiromu Nonaka urged the DPJ to apologize for Hatoyama's behavior at Thursday's talks, suggesting that the LDP will not otherwise join one-on-one Diet debate sessions between the prime minister and leaders of the opposition parties.

Thursday's meeting lasted only a couple of minutes because Hatoyama refused to take a seat and left after handing Mori a written request for his entire Cabinet to resign.

Meanwhile, leaders of the four main opposition forces will meet Monday to discuss submitting a no-confidence motion against the Mori administration.