Ozawa to appeal high court decision on his mandatory indictment+

TOKYO, Oct. 26 Kyodo -
Ruling party kingpin Ichiro Ozawa has decided to appeal against a high court
ruling rejecting his request for a suspension of judicial procedures against
him in connection with his mandatory indictment for the alleged misreporting of
political funds, sources familiar with the case said Tuesday.
Lawyers for Ozawa will file an appeal with the Supreme Court on Wednesday
against Friday's decision by the Tokyo High Court, the sources said.
The 68-year-old former leader of the Democratic Party of Japan filed a suit
against the government on Oct. 15 seeking to nullify a Sept. 14 decision by an
independent judicial panel of 11 citizens that he should be indicted over the
alleged misreporting of funds by his Rikuzankai political fund management body.
The Tokyo District Court rejected Ozawa's demand on Oct. 18.
Last Friday, the Tokyo High Court dismissed Ozawa's appeal against the lower
court's decision, while, in a related development the same day, the lower court
picked three lawyers to serve as prosecutors in the indictment of Ozawa.
The three lawyers have since held talks with the Tokyo District Public
Prosecutors Office to take over records of the prosecutors' investigation into
the alleged falsification by Ozawa's fund management body, in preparation for
filing an indictment.
==Kyodo