Editorial
Ozawa has not fulfilled his accountability for political funding scandal
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Secretary-General Ichiro Ozawa appears to believe he has fulfilled his accountability for his political fund management body's shady funding of its land transactions.
He declared that he will stay on as DPJ secretary-general when he held a news conference on Monday after the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office decided not to indict him over the incident. He also emphasized that he does not have to provide a further explanation over the case on the grounds that he has been questioned by prosecutors on two occasions.
However, opinion polls, including one conducted by the Mainichi Shimbun, have shown that around 70 percent of the public are calling for Ozawa to resign as secretary-general of the governing party. The survey results suggest that Ozawa is far from having dispelled the public's suspicion about his involvement in the scandal.
One cannot help but raise questions about Ozawa's view that he has fulfilled his accountability. Ozawa should immediately comply with opposition parties' demands that he provide an explanation over the scandal at the Diet.
Even though he expressed an apology at the outset of the news conference, Ozawa mostly talked tough throughout the meeting. He stressed that prosecutors' decision not to indict him has "clarified that there was no illegal act," and said Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who heads the DPJ, allowed him to stay in his post. Moreover, he expressed his intention to visit the United States during the Golden Week holiday period in May.
Nevertheless, various questions remain over Ozawa's remarks. In particular, his claim that he has fulfilled his accountability as he was questioned by prosecutors is far from convincing.
Ozawa's explanation about the source of funds used to buy land changed, and his claim that he left all accounting and other clerical work to his secretaries is not convincing.
Moreover, Ozawa criticized news organizations for the way they conducted opinion polls. "The opinion polls were conducted shortly after it was repeatedly reported that Ichiro Ozawa had received illicit money," he said.
However, he should keep in mind that he has failed to dispel the public's suspicions about his involvement in the scandal.
His responsibility for supervising his three current and former secretaries under indictment over the case, including House of Representatives lawmaker Tomohiro Ishikawa, is also grave.
If he is confident that he is innocent, he should comply with opposition parties' demands that he provide an explanation at the Diet.
Prime Minister Hatoyama is also lukewarm to Ozawa staying on. Ozawa told the news conference that Hatoyama urged him to "work hard" when the prime minister allowed him to continue to serve as DPJ secretary-general. However, Hatoyama subsequently denied that he "encouraged" Ozawa to remain in his post.
If Hatoyama wants to avoid toppling with Ozawa, there are numerous things he should do to ensure that the DPJ recovers its self-cleansing capabilities.
As Ozawa has decided to stay on, a majority of DPJ legislators are waiting to see how the public will react to the move ahead of the House of Councillors election in summer. Ishikawa denied Tuesday that he will resign as a legislator amid confusion over a draft resolution calling on him to step down, which opposition parties including the Liberal Democratic Party have submitted to the Diet. The current political situation will remain deadlocked without solving Ozawa's funding scandal problem.
(Mainichi Japan) February 10, 2010