EDITORIAL: Ozawa case dropped

Prosecutors on Thursday decided not to indict Ichiro Ozawa, secretary-general of the Democratic Party of Japan, over the alleged false reporting of political funds linked to a questionable land purchase by his political fund management body.

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office dropped the case against the ruling party bigwig, citing insufficient evidence to indicate his involvement in the false reporting.

But prosecutors indicted three people on charges of violating the Political Fund Control Law, including Lower House member Tomohiro Ishikawa, a former aide to Ozawa.

These actions effectively end the nearly one-year investigation into scandals over Ozawa's political funds. The probe began in March 2009, when Tokyo prosecutors started a criminal investigation into alleged illegal political donations by Nishimatsu Construction Co.

During the year, the DPJ came to power through a landslide victory in the Lower House election in August.

Ozawa has expressed his intention to remain in his party post, while Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has voiced his support for Ozawa's continued service.

Ozawa should testify in Diet

But this should not end efforts to clarify the facts.

The focus of the investigation was on whether Ozawa was involved in the false reporting and whether the money used to buy the land included illegal donations from general contractors.

Ishikawa has admitted making false entries in the political fund reports but denied that Ozawa was involved in the misconduct or received any secret donations. During two rounds of questioning by prosecutors, Ozawa said he had not been aware of the false reporting nor received any illegal contributions.

It is only natural for prosecutors to refrain from indicting Ozawa if their exhaustive investigation failed to uncover enough evidence to prove Ozawa's guilt in a trial. But many questions remain unanswered.

For example, if the money used for the land purchase didn't include any illegal funds, why did Ozawa's side try to conceal the source of the cash?

An executive of a medium-sized construction company that won a subcontract for a dam project in Iwate Prefecture has told prosecutors that he handed 50 million yen ($550,000) to Ishikawa around the time of the land deal. Suspicions raised by this allegation have not been fully cleared up.

There is a possibility that the decision not to indict Ozawa will be reversed after a prosecution inquest committee, consisting of randomly selected citizens, examines the case. The scandal will no doubt have lingering political repercussions.

Although he has not faced criminal charges, Ozawa bears a heavy responsibility regarding the scandal.

He should first offer an explanation about the allegations to the public.

Ozawa has repeatedly changed his explanation about funds worth 400 million yen, most of which was used to finance the land deal. He has offered no convincing explanation for keeping such a large amount of money at his home for such a long period.

There are also suspicions surrounding Ozawa about unreported flows of huge sums of funds.

Now that the case against Ozawa has been officially dropped, he can no longer cite the "ongoing investigation" as his reason for rejecting the opposition's request that he testify in the Diet as an unsworn witness.

We urge Ozawa to answer questions squarely at the Diet.

Voters disillusioned

Even more important is his political and moral responsibility.

The scandal, which has led to the arrests and indictments of three of his former and current aides, including an incumbent Lower House member, has had a deep impact on society.

When voters chose the DPJ last year for a historical regime change, they had great expectations for a rebirth of politics. Yet the political community remains mired in the same problem of "politicians and money" that haunted the previous governments led by the Liberal Democratic Party.

The opposition camp is determined to continue attacking the DPJ-led government over Ozawa's political fund scandal and what LDP President Sadakazu Tanigaki calls "Ozawa's dictatorship" over the government and the ruling party.

The Hatoyama administration is facing a raft of important political challenges, including Diet deliberations on the draft budget for next fiscal year and the looming decision on where to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture.

The administration needs to make a fresh start as soon as possible by pulling itself out of the current morass, in which Diet debate is focused on scandals, not policies.

Ozawa has long been leading the movement for political reform. In a bid to improve the health of the nation's democracy, he has been championing a political system in which two major parties compete for a public mandate through serious policy debate.

We wonder what he thinks about the disturbing gap between his lofty political vision and the current situation.

If the situation remains unchanged, the public could become seriously disillusioned with the benefits of the power transfer. And that could destroy the chances of progress in political reform and democracy.

If Ozawa cannot fulfill his political and moral responsibility, he should resign as DPJ secretary-general.

That would be the only way to change the political situation and restore constructive policy debate at the Diet. The prosecutors' decision not to indict Ozawa does not offer any reasonable justification for him to remain in the key post.

And Ishikawa should vacate his Diet seat now that he has been indicted.

The DPJ's ability to clean itself up has also been called into question. Since the scandal broke out, few party members have called on Ozawa to answer questions before the Diet or pointed out his political responsibility.

Ozawa has certainly shown great prowess in handling elections as well as Diet and party affairs. But the DPJ should not remain dependent on his political skills. We hope DPJ lawmakers will show enough political sophistication to use this scandal as an opportunity to outgrow their dependence on Ozawa.

Improving investigations

We have some advice for prosecutors as well.

Prosecutors made the unusual move of arresting Ishikawa immediately before the ordinary Diet session was convened. When prosecutors started the criminal investigation into the Nishimatsu scandal before the Lower House election, they also faced public criticism that their actions were politically motivated.

Obviously, prosecutors should investigate any allegation of criminal activity, and they have good reason to keep detailed information about their investigation secret for the sake of a trial.

But they should also remember that in times after a power shift, the public expects a higher level of fairness and transparency in cases involving lawmakers.

The Justice Ministry and prosecutors should increase efforts to provide the public as much information as possible about ongoing investigations at such important junctures.

Old-era remnants remain in the foundation of the new age ushered in by the DPJ's ascent to power. Many lessons should be gleaned from the latest political scandal to push the politics forward.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 5