Ozawa says he will stay on as DPJ lawmaker to prove innocence+

TOKYO, Oct. 7 Kyodo -
Japanese political kingpin Ichiro Ozawa said Thursday he has no plans to leave
the Democratic Party of Japan or resign from parliament, despite his imminent
prosecution over alleged false reporting by his fund management body.
Ozawa, former leader of the ruling party, said he has not done anything wrong
and will prove his innocence in court, as he met the press for the first time
since an independent judicial panel's decision that he should face mandatory
indictment over the matter was made public on Monday.
''I have no such intention,'' Ozawa told reporters in a lawmakers' office
building, when asked about the possibility of leaving the DPJ or giving up his
long political career. ''I will continue my political activities as long as I
am needed.''
The 68-year-old lawmaker said he will appear before the Diet if it decides to
summon him to provide an explanation regarding the allegations.
''I will follow any decision the Diet will make,'' Ozawa said, adding, however,
that the case has been moved to the judicial stage following the Sept. 14
decision of the panel, which consisted of 11 randomly picked ordinary citizens.
The decision by the Tokyo No. 5 Committee for the Inquest of Prosecution
followed its initial decision in April that Ozawa merited indictment, which
forced prosecutors to take another look at the case, though they decided again
not to indict him due to a lack of evidence.
Following the panel's decision, Ozawa will be the first Diet member to face
mandatory indictment under the current prosecution inquest system.
How to deal with Ozawa's future has provided a headache for Prime Minister
Naoto Kan, who managed to extend his premiership last month by beating Ozawa in
the DPJ's presidential election.
A Kyodo News opinion survey, released Wednesday, found that 54.3 percent of
respondents believe Ozawa should resign as a Diet member and 63.8 percent that
he should leave the DPJ.
Opposition parties are stepping up pressure on Kan not to be lenient to Ozawa,
who heads the biggest intraparty group and is credited with bringing the party
to power last year.
Ozawa said he has not decided what he will do if the DPJ asks him to leave the
party.
''I hope my peers and people in the party will fully understand (my
position),'' Ozawa said, pointing out many times that prosecutors, who are
''official investigative authorities,'' have already dropped the case.
Aside from the fact that the panel was formed by 11 members with an average age
of 30, Ozawa said it was ''completely veiled in secrecy,'' voicing
dissatisfaction that the public as well as himself had no way of finding out
what kind of discussions took place before the decision was reached.
The DPJ has been studying how the party should deal with Ozawa's future. DPJ
Secretary General Katsuya Okada said issues related to Ozawa will be discussed
at a meeting of party executives slated for next Tuesday.
However, Azuma Koshiishi, leader of the DPJ's upper house caucus, said at a
news conference that there is no need for the party to penalize Ozawa in
connection with the judicial panel's decision.
''I also think that he does not need to leave the party or resign from the
Diet,'' said Koshiishi after Ozawa made his stance clear.
Okada said the party is considering questioning Ozawa about his stance on
alleged false reporting by his fund management body.
Kan told reporters in the evening that Okada will first be in charge of
addressing issues related to Ozawa's future.
Earlier in the day, his lawyer said that Ozawa intends to file a lawsuit
against the decision, as it does not correspond with what he was originally
charged with and is not legitimate.
But the lawyer added that any specific procedures for the challenge have yet to
be decided.
The panel determined that Ozawa's fund management body entered 400 million yen
in expenses used to purchase land in Tokyo, which were supposed to be reported
in its 2004 statement, in its report for 2005.
The panel also raised questions about Ozawa's argument that he raised the 400
million yen himself. It stated that it was unreasonable for Ozawa to sign a
document allowing the fund body to borrow 400 million yen from banks if he had
sufficient funds, suggesting he may have tried to cover up where he got the
money from.
The lawyer claimed that the charge relates simply to the problem of
misreporting but the panel argued Ozawa should be indicted because the origin
of the funds was unclear.
The lawyer quoted Ozawa as saying he hopes that whatever option is considered
best by his defense counsel will be taken.
Under the revised inquest of prosecution law, Ozawa is set to be indicted on a
charge of violating the Political Funds Control Law by lawyers who will be
appointed by a court and will act as prosecutors.
Since the judicial panel does not have an organizational status and cannot be
sued, Ozawa's defense council will likely have to pursue the citizens who
constituted the panel.
==Kyodo
2010-10-08 00:27:27


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