TOKYO – Japanese opposition Democratic Party leader Ichiro Ozawa looked set yesterday to try to ride out a fundraising scandal that has clouded his party’s prospects for an election which investors had hoped could break Japan’s policy deadlock.
Media surveys already show that a majority of voters think he should quit after his aide was arrested last week on suspicion of accepting illegal corporate donations.
Yesterday, however, Mr Ozawa denied any involvement in corrupt practices and said he was not considering quitting for now.
“When circumstances including the [results of] the investigation become clear, at that point I would like the people to decide,” Mr Ozawa told a news conference.
“Therefore, I am not thinking about resigning until a final conclusion is reached.”
Before the scandal broke, a political stalemate and voters’ frustrations with prime minister Taro Aso had raised the chances Mr Ozawa would lead his party to victory in the election.
That would end more than 50 years of nearly unbroken rule by Mr Aso’s Liberal Democratic Party. – (Reuters)
