Thousands of people in Tokyo's Akihabara district Saturday heard the opening campaign speeches of the three candidates running in the Sept. 20 Liberal Democratic Party presidential race, which will determine the next prime minister.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='250' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='../images/photos2006/nn20060910a1a.jpg' WIDTH='250' HEIGHT='154'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>The three candidates in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential poll -- Taro Aso –

, Sadakazu Tanigaki (center) and Shinzo Abe -- raise their joined hands Saturday after stumping in Tokyo's Akihabara district. KYODO PHOTO

Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki and Foreign Minister Taro Aso were making their first appearance before the public after the campaign officially kicked off Friday.