Editorial
Ozawa needs to explain 'voice of heaven' in political donation scandal
In the first hearing in the trial of former Nishimatsu Construction President Mikio Kunisawa, public prosecutors alleged that the company donated huge sums to the office of former Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) leader Ichiro Ozawa to receive the office's "voice of heaven," enabling the company to win rigged public works contracts in Iwate and Akita prefectures.
When doubts were raised over why Ozawa's office kept receiving large donations, Ozawa stressed that he had "nothing to hide." However, public prosecutors allege that Ozawa's office suggested Nishimatsu should boost the amount of its donations. They also pointed out that joint ventures led by Nishimatsu won a total of 12.2 billion yen in public works projects through the office, and we want a clear explanation from Ozawa regarding these allegations.
Public prosecutors said that since Nishimatsu didn't have a good relationship with Ozawa's office, it was unable to win as many public works contracts as it wished in Iwate and Akita prefectures; so, around 1995, it increased its donations from roughly 3 million yen a year to over 10 million yen. After the Law to Regulate Money Used for Political Activities ushered in tightened regulations in 1995, Nishimatsu created dummy groups that enabled it to make donations without revealing its name.
From 1997, at the request of Ozawa's office, payments were increased to 25 million yen, investigators said. Prosecutors said that the office sent an invoice indicating how much should be donated and how it should be divided, allegedly telling Nishimatsu: "We want to do divide up the names (under which donations are made), so as not to draw society's attention over the donations."
From about 2000, Ozawa's secretary Takanori Okubo, 48, was in charge of negotiations over donations and acted as the office's voice of heaven. He also allegedly drew up a payment plan for Nishimatsu, listing names and distribution channels.
If public prosecutors' claims are true, we must conclude that Ozawa's office was deeply involved in heinous activities. A third-party committee commissioned by the Democratic Party of Japan was critical of the investigation, saying, "There are doubts over many points, such as whether the case involved wrongfulness or seriousness warranting punishment." But it now seems that this kind of criticism itself was imprudent.
At the same time, Okubo's lawyers have criticized the case.
"Prosecutors claims are based solely on one-sided statements from major construction company sources. They have not produced one piece of evidence to specifically back up their claims," they argue.
Questions have been raised over the appropriateness of the investigation, which resulted in the leader of the top opposition party stepping down ahead of the House of Representatives election. In order to refute any criticism, public prosecutors need to provide a bigger picture of the case and explicitly prove any wrongfulness during Okubo's trial.
That being said, prosecutors have indicated anew that there is definitely a reason for a large amount of corporate donations being delivered to a specific politician. Nishimatsu also made donations to lawmakers associated with Liberal Democratic Party, including Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry Toshihiro Nikai. A prosecution inquest committee concluded that it was unreasonable not to file charges against those in charge of accounting for a political group linked to Nikai, in connection with the group's acceptance of 8.38 million yen worth of party vouchers sent in the name of a dummy organization that Nishimatsu set up. Once again we want to underscore the need for investigations to thoroughly clarify the reasons for large donations being made.
(Mainichi Japan) June 20, 2009