Kan meets Ozawa again for low-key talks

TOKYO, Dec. 25 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Naoto Kan met again with Ichiro Ozawa, a former leader of the
Democratic Party of Japan, on Saturday in an attempt to patch up a serious rift
within the ruling party over how to address a scandal involving Ozawa's fund
management body, but the meeting, attended by several other senior DPJ
lawmakers and labor union officials, was low-key, participants said.
Kan and Ozawa did not exchange words during the meeting in a Tokyo hotel, which
lasted about an hour. Kan, who leads the DPJ, met one-on-one with Ozawa at the
prime minister's office on Monday for about 90 minutes but failed to persuade
him to appear before the House of Representatives ethics panel to explain the
scandal.
The latest meeting was brokered by the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, the
DPJ's biggest support organization known as Rengo, out of concern that the
party could break up amid escalating tension between pro- and anti-Ozawa
lawmakers. About 10 labor union representatives, including Rengo President
Nobuaki Koga, attended the talks.
From the DPJ, Secretary General Katsuya Okada, former Prime Minister Yukio
Hatoyama and Azuma Koshiishi, head of the party's House of Councillors caucus,
also attended the meeting.
According to Okada, who spoke with reporters after the meeting, Ozawa said the
party needs to unite ''under Prime Minister Kan'' ahead of next year's ordinary
Diet session and regional elections.
Okada also quoted Ozawa as saying, ''I'm ashamed of my inability to meet the
expectations of the public.''
Ozawa emphasized the importance of party unity and said, ''We were bound
together with the aim of political reform when we realized the change of power
last year and that is important.''
Ozawa adopted a somewhat softer stance regarding the DPJ's leadership, which he
has sharply criticized, other participants said.
Meanwhile, Hatoyama and Koshiishi, who are known to be close to Ozawa, have
voiced objections to summoning the kingpin to the Diet.
Hatoyama was quoted by the participants at the meeting as saying, ''Mr. Ozawa
was the driving force behind (last year's) change of power. We need wisdom to
overcome (the issue of) the ethics panel,'' reiterating his opposition to
having Ozawa testify before the Diet panel.
But other than Hatoyama, no one made any remarks about the testimony issue, the
participants said.
Later in the day, Okada reiterated in a news conference held in Kawagoe, Mie
Prefecture, that there is no change in the party's policy of asking Ozawa to
appear before the lower house ethics panel to explain the scandal.
''If his explanation is insufficient, we need him to come out and explain,''
Okada said.
Ozawa has repeatedly refused to explain the allegations against him in
parliament, saying he will prove his innocence in court. Meanwhile, the
opposition camp has demanded that Ozawa be summoned to parliament to give sworn
testimony over the matter.
The DPJ is scheduled to formally decide on its policy on the testimony issue at
an executive meeting on Monday.
==Kyodo