Ozawa stands his ground
(From The Japan Times March 26 issue)

小沢代表の続投表明

Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa decided to remain in his post after his chief secretary was indicted March 24 on a charge of violating the Political Funds Control Law. The party endorsed his decision.

Mr. Ozawa said the content of the indictment proved that he was not involved in bribery or other crimes. He also said he will do his best to have parliamentary democracy take root in Japan by wresting power from the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito in the coming Lower House election.

The decision by Mr. Ozawa and the DPJ shows they expect little damage to the DPJ as they're counting on people to understand Mr. Ozawa's explanation. But there is no guarantee that people will. Unless Mr. Ozawa and the DPJ clearly detail their interpretation of the requirements under the Political Funds Control Law, it will be difficult to regain people's full trust.

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office indicted Mr. Ozawa's chief secretary, who serves as the accountant of Mr. Ozawa's political funds management organization, on a charge of falsely reporting that it and a DPJ branch received ¥35 million in political donations from two political organizations linked to Nishimatsu Construction Co. from 2003 to 2006 — while it actually received the money from Nishimatsu itself. The indictment has created the suspicion that the DPJ leader has a special relationship with the general contractor. The DPJ needs to squarely deal with the problem of donations and politicians.

On the other hand, the arrest and indictment have given rise to suspicion that public prosecutors targeted the opposition leader ahead of a national election. Mr. Ozawa said public prosecutors in the past did not seek arrests or indictments in cases similar to his secretary's. The big question is how prosecutors will handle other politicians in a situation similar to Mr. Ozawa's regarding their relations with Nishimatsu.

民主党の小沢代表の公設第1秘書が政治資金規正法違反で起訴されたが、小沢氏は続投の意向を表明、党もそれを了承した。

氏は収賄罪など犯罪に手を染めた事実はなく、政権交代により日本に議会制民主主義を定着させるため、次期総選挙で勝利を目指すと語った。

だが、小沢氏と民主党が政治資金規正法の解釈を詳しく説明しない限り、国民の信頼を回復するのは難しい。

東京地検は、西松建設からの計3500万円の献金を同社関連の政治団体からの寄付と偽って報告したとして同秘書を起訴した。小沢氏と西松建設の関係の密接さに疑いがかかっている。

一方で、検察当局が故意に総選挙前に野党の党首を狙った疑いもある。西松建設から献金を受けた他の政治家に対し、検察がどう対処するかが問題だ。