Ozawa Out Another Scandal
The pressure was too much? Scandal again. Another resignation! This time its the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan. Yesterday, Ichiro Ozawa surprised the political world by announcing his resignation as DPJ president to take responsibility for the political fundraising scandal involving his chief aide. But considering the number of scandals involving corruption in Japan perhaps it is not such a surprise!
Ozawas resignation comes at a critical time for the government and opposition parties. This is because there is an election looming.
Ozawa’s secretary, Takanori Okubo, was charged in March with violating the Political Funds Control Law.
Ozawa’s political fund management body, for which Okubo was the chief accountant, allegedly accepted illicit donations from scandal-tainted Nishimatsu Construction Co. Japanese law prohibits corporate contributions to individual lawmakers. Since Okubo’s arrest, Ozawa has stressed his innocence.
Before Okubo’s arrest, the DPJ was enjoying considerable popularity. The Cabinet of Prime Minister Taro Aso comparatively was faced with low support rates. In March, however, their situations reversed. Opinion polls taken by various media companies showed a majority of the public did not support Ozawa’s decision to stay on.
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