DPJ to discharge vice secretary general over criticism of Ozawa+

TOKYO, March 18 Kyodo -
Executives of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan decided Thursday to
discharge Vice Secretary General Yukio Ubukata from his post for having
repeatedly criticized DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa over a funds scandal
and the DPJ leadership as a whole, if he continues to refuse to stand down from
the post.
Earlier in the day, Senior Vice Secretary General Yoshimitsu Takashima urged
Ubukata to tender a letter of resignation, but Ubukata, a House of
Representatives lawmaker, refused.
Ubukata became the first senior DPJ official to effectively demand that Ozawa
step down since the scandal involving a land purchase in Tokyo by Ozawa's fund
management body came to light late last year.
In a hastily convened meeting, the party's vice secretary generals endorsed the
plan to dismiss Ubukata next week if he refuses to stand down.
Takashima said Ozawa also approved the plan and that Megumu Tsuji, a lower
house DPJ member, will replace Ubukata.
Ozawa asked Takashima if there was any more amicable way, but Takashima
responded that he thought it was impossible, according to Takashima.
''His responsibility is to offer opinions in party meetings...and work hard
toward making the party better,'' Takashima told reporters after meeting with
Ubukata at the party's headquarters in Tokyo. ''I don't think he has fulfilled
his duty or his responsibility as vice secretary general.''
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who leads the DPJ, said in the evening, ''I
think it is fine that there is criticism of the leadership, but that should be
done within the party.''
''I wonder if it is gracious (for a member to denounce the leadership) in the
media without doing it at all in the party,'' Hatoyama said.
After meeting with Takashima, Ubukata told reporters he does not think he needs
to resign and even called for the resignation of Ozawa from the party's No. 2
post.
''If he (Ozawa) is unable to obtain public understanding (for his explanation
regarding the funds scandal), he should leave his post -- that is a majority
(opinion) within the party,'' he said.
In the interview, he said, ''In the current DPJ, someone alone keeps a grip on
power and funds,'' referring to Ozawa.
''Mr. Hatoyama, who is president of the party, should call and warn Mr. Ozawa
that the party is in a centralized system,'' he said.
Takashima said he is concerned that if the matter is left unattended, it may
undermine unity within the party, which is already struggling with sagging
public support.
The move may cause a split between DPJ lawmakers who support Ozawa and those
who do not ahead of the House of Councillors election this summer.
''It is certainly not favorable that a person who says something that no one
wants to hear is pressured to submit a resignation,'' Senior Vice Finance
Minister Yoshihiko Noda said at a press conference.
''The DPJ has enjoyed a culture in which members offer opinions vigorously, and
that has been one of the party's appeals,'' the senior DPJ official said.
Yukio Edano, minister in charge of government revitalization for administrative
reforms and a vocal critic of Ozawa, said, ''I don't think Mr. Ubukata made any
problematic comments.''
Ubukata is one of a number of DPJ lawmakers who are advocating the
reestablishment of a policy research council in the party, which was scrapped
by Ozawa when the DPJ took power in mid-September. The lawmakers complain that
there are no venues for rank-and-file members to have their opinions reflected
in the government's policies.
Hatoyama and Ozawa agreed last week to set up policy research forums at each of
the parliamentary committees, in an apparent bid to rein in possible pressure
from anti-Ozawa lawmakers to remove him from the secretary general post.
Such senior officials as Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister
Seiji Maehara have also been critical of Ozawa but have not unequivocally urged
him to resign.
==Kyodo