EDITORIAL: Ozawa's aides arrested

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office arrested on Friday Lower House member Tomohiro Ishikawa of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) on suspicion of violating the Political Fund Control Law, in connection with a questionable land purchase involving a fund management group of DPJ Secretary-General Ichiro Ozawa. Another former aide of Ozawa was also arrested.

To arrest a Diet lawmaker during a Diet session, prosecutors must go through certain procedures to obtain permission from the Diet. Therefore, it seems the authorities decided to arrest Ishikawa before the ordinary Diet session opens Monday.

This Diet session is the first regular one in which the DPJ's political competence will be put to a real test. But just before the start of the session, an incumbent lawmaker and former aide to Ozawa, the most powerful figure in the ruling party, has been arrested. This is truly an unprecedented situation.

The DPJ convention on Saturday was supposed to be an occasion to show party solidarity with an eye to the Upper House election in the summer, but there are now far more pressing matters at hand.

In a previous Ozawa political fund scandal, his top state-paid aide was indicted and is now standing trial in connection with suspected illegal political donations from Nishimatsu Construction Co. The aide insists he is innocent. Regarding the latest land-purchase scandal, Ozawa said, "There was no intentional breach of the law," and has refused to cooperate with the prosecution's request for him to be questioned voluntarily.

However, given the fact that three of his close aides have been arrested, we must say that Ozawa's political and moral responsibility is extremely grave.

Ozawa's fund control organization purchased residential land in Tokyo five years ago. Lawmaker Ishikawa is suspected of having failed to report the 400 million yen used to buy the land as "income" in the political fund report.

Where this 400 million yen ($4.41 million) came from is the focus of the scandal. It is suspected that a part of the money was illicit 50-million-yen donations Ishikawa received from a midsized contractor that won a contract in a dam project in Iwate Prefecture around the time when Ozawa's group bought the land.

So far, Ozawa has adamantly refused to explain the origin of the 400 million yen or why dubious accounting practices were used, while saying the matter is under investigation.

However, he is no longer justified in refusing to provide an explanation. He should agree to be questioned by prosecutors and offer a convincing explanation to the public. If he cannot do that, then we have every right to assume that the money is tainted.

Within the ruling DPJ, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's former top state-paid aide has also been indicted for illegal donations and is awaiting trial.

The regular Diet session will no doubt feature significant conflict from the start, with the opposition out to grill the DPJ. Although for a long time there was no move within the DPJ to demand Ozawa explain himself, party members are finally starting to talk about the need for the politician to offer a credible narrative to the public.

If things are left as they are, then the public will be further disappointed, concluding that nothing has changed despite a change of government, and that politics remains as corrupt as ever.

This is exactly where Ozawa's political responsibilities lie, whether he is actually criminally responsible or not. It is up to Ozawa himself to decide if he should resign.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 16