DPJ leader Ozawa to resign amid fundraising scandal+

TOKYO, May 11 Kyodo -
Main opposition Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa said Monday he
will resign at a time when growing expectations for a regime change have been
dampened due to a political funds scandal involving his close aide.
Ozawa had been outscoring Prime Minister Taro Aso in terms of the public's
preference for next prime minister until recently, and the DPJ was seen as
having a good shot at ending the almost unbroken rule of the long-dominant
Liberal Democratic Party in the next House of Representatives election.
However, he has decided to step down apparently to ensure ''party unity'' which
appears to have been shaken prior to the lower house election following the
indictment of his secretary in the scandal.
''I have decided to step down from the post of DPJ president...to make our
party unity stronger so as to realize a regime change,'' Ozawa told a hastily
called press conference, while admitting that his decision also partly reflects
some views within the DPJ.
Following Ozawa's announcement, DPJ Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama, who had
urged Ozawa to remain as president, also expressed his intention to resign.
Ozawa denied that he will resign as a Diet member or leave the party, and
expressed his readiness to run in the next general election.
Ozawa said the party's election to pick his successor should be held after the
lower house completes its deliberations on the fiscal 2009 supplementary budget
in the hope of minimizing the impact on the public, while Hatoyama said, ''It
is desirable to hold it within this week...We should not take a long time.''
He expects the schedule to be decided at a meeting of DPJ executives Tuesday,
he added.
Former DPJ chiefs Katsuya Okada and Naoto Kan have been cited within the party
as potential successors to Ozawa.
When the scandal broke in early March, Ozawa said he would stay on as DPJ
president, denying any wrongdoing despite criticism that the incident had
undermined public trust in politics, while repeatedly suggesting he would
resign if his decision to stay on as DPJ leader would have a negative impact on
the lower house election.
While apologizing to the public for causing trouble, Ozawa expressed confidence
about winning the next general election, saying, ''We cannot win the general
election if the party is inconsistent. On the contrary, I am sure that we can
certainly win if we build party unity.''
Given that Ozawa could potentially become the next Japanese prime minister,
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. John McCain, a former
U.S. presidential candidate, met with him earlier this year when they visited
Tokyo.
Prior to the news conference, Ozawa told party executives and lawmakers close
to him, ''It's better for me to step down in order to change the regime,''
party lawmakers said.
His secretary, 47-year-old Takanori Okubo, was indicted March 24 for receiving
35 million yen in donations from scandal-tainted Nishimatsu Construction Co. in
violation of the political funds control law.
Ozawa told the press conference, ''I have nothing to feel guilty about
regarding my political funds,'' emphasizing that he has been reporting his
political funds in accordance with the law and is not stepping down to take any
responsibility for the matter.
Ozawa had accused prosecutors of being politically motivated and abusing state
powers in arresting his secretary.
Aso told reporters after Ozawa's press conference, ''I believe people did not
understand what responsibility Mr. Ozawa intends to take and why (he announced
his resignation) at this time.''
Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said at a press conference, ''It's true
he has faced public censure over his lack of accountability (for the scandal),
and I assume he's decided to step down in the face of such calls.''
Kawamura also expressed the view that Ozawa's resignation was partly aimed at
avoiding having to face off with Aso in a parliamentary debate scheduled for
Wednesday.
The DPJ's Hatoyama told reporters that it will be difficult to hold a Diet
debate on Wednesday after Ozawa's resignation announcement.
A native of Iwate Prefecture, the 66-year-old Ozawa won a lower house seat for
the first time in December 1969 for the LDP and has been elected 13 times since
then.
He held such important posts as home affairs minister from 1985 to 1986 and LDP
secretary general, the No. 2 post in the party, from 1989 to 1991.
But Ozawa, along with more than 40 colleagues, left the LDP in June 1993 after
infighting mainly over electoral system reform and helped former Prime Minister
Tsutomu Hata form a breakaway party, the now-defunct Japan Renewal Party.
Ozawa was instrumental in establishing a coalition government led by Morihiro
Hosokawa of the now-defunct Japan New Party in August 1993, which successfully
toppled the LDP from nearly four decades of power that year.
He formed the Liberal Party in 1998 as a small party and tied up with the LDP
to establish a governing coalition in January 1999.
After leaving the coalition in 2000, Ozawa let his Liberal Party merge with the
DPJ in September 2003.
After being elected president of the DPJ in April 2006, Ozawa adopted a party
management style based on cooperation and consultation, particularly via a
decision-making framework of the so-called ''troika'' leadership with Acting
President Kan and Secretary General Hatoyama.
In the July 2007 House of Councillors election, Ozawa led the party to a
landslide victory, beating the ruling coalition of the LDP and the New Komeito
party.
Some political pundits had predicted that even if he were to become the next
prime minister following victory in the upcoming lower house election, his
administration might not last long given his history of heart problems.
==Kyodo
2009-05-11 22:27:39