ID :
164453
Sun, 02/27/2011 - 15:46
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Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/164453
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Ozawa suggests DPJ would suffer crushing defeat in general election
SENDAI, Feb. 27 Kyodo - Former Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa suggested Sunday that the ruling party would suffer a crushing defeat if the House of Representatives is dissolved and a general election is held under Naoto Kan's premiership.
''If it comes to a dissolution and general election under the way things are, we might have to battle the election amid a completely different wind compared to two years ago,'' Ozawa said at a DPJ lawmaker's party in Iwanuma, Miyagi Prefecture.
Ozawa was referring to the last lower house election in August 2009 in which the DPJ clinched a landmark victory, ending the Liberal Democratic Party's almost continuous grip on power for more than half a century.
''We never know how the political situation will develop,'' Ozawa said. ''It seems that the possibility of a (lower house) dissolution and general election becoming a reality is extremely large.''
Azuma Koshiishi, head of the party's caucus in the upper house and one of Ozawa's closest allies, dismissed growing calls in the DPJ for Kan to step down if it would help to secure opposition parties' approval for bills to implement the fiscal 2011 budget.
''Now is not an appropriate time for such an argument...It is foreseeable that only turmoil would result'' given that the question of who could possibly succeed Kan is up in the air, Koshiishi told a Fuji television program.
Ozawa also said Kan's government must humbly accept people's criticism that the ''flag of ideals'' earlier put forth by the party has disappeared and tackle politics in a spirit similar to the time that the DPJ was eyeing toppling the LDP.
The growing rift between pro- and anti-Ozawa lawmakers within the DPJ has prompted the party's leadership to take action toward preventing Ozawa's supporters from making comments critical of Kan and his government, including asking members to be careful about what they say during TV or radio appearances.
The leadership distributed a document dated Feb. 17 to all party lawmakers, asking them to notify the secretary general's office beforehand of which programs they are scheduled to appear on and the themes of the programs.
The document, in the name of DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada and Sumio Mabuchi, chairman of the party's Public Relations Committee, also warned party lawmakers to be careful not to make remarks that could work to the advantage of opposition parties.
Koshiishi reiterated the warning Sunday, saying the rift among DPJ lawmakers ''has given the public the perception that the party has split into pro- and anti-Ozawa camps that are spending lots of energy on intraparty warfare.''
Koshiishi urged the DPJ leadership to take harsh disciplinary action against 16 pro-Ozawa members who earlier this month declared they will leave the party's parliamentary bloc and hinted they could vote against the budget-related bills, branding their moves ''unacceptable.''
''If it comes to a dissolution and general election under the way things are, we might have to battle the election amid a completely different wind compared to two years ago,'' Ozawa said at a DPJ lawmaker's party in Iwanuma, Miyagi Prefecture.
Ozawa was referring to the last lower house election in August 2009 in which the DPJ clinched a landmark victory, ending the Liberal Democratic Party's almost continuous grip on power for more than half a century.
''We never know how the political situation will develop,'' Ozawa said. ''It seems that the possibility of a (lower house) dissolution and general election becoming a reality is extremely large.''
Azuma Koshiishi, head of the party's caucus in the upper house and one of Ozawa's closest allies, dismissed growing calls in the DPJ for Kan to step down if it would help to secure opposition parties' approval for bills to implement the fiscal 2011 budget.
''Now is not an appropriate time for such an argument...It is foreseeable that only turmoil would result'' given that the question of who could possibly succeed Kan is up in the air, Koshiishi told a Fuji television program.
Ozawa also said Kan's government must humbly accept people's criticism that the ''flag of ideals'' earlier put forth by the party has disappeared and tackle politics in a spirit similar to the time that the DPJ was eyeing toppling the LDP.
The growing rift between pro- and anti-Ozawa lawmakers within the DPJ has prompted the party's leadership to take action toward preventing Ozawa's supporters from making comments critical of Kan and his government, including asking members to be careful about what they say during TV or radio appearances.
The leadership distributed a document dated Feb. 17 to all party lawmakers, asking them to notify the secretary general's office beforehand of which programs they are scheduled to appear on and the themes of the programs.
The document, in the name of DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada and Sumio Mabuchi, chairman of the party's Public Relations Committee, also warned party lawmakers to be careful not to make remarks that could work to the advantage of opposition parties.
Koshiishi reiterated the warning Sunday, saying the rift among DPJ lawmakers ''has given the public the perception that the party has split into pro- and anti-Ozawa camps that are spending lots of energy on intraparty warfare.''
Koshiishi urged the DPJ leadership to take harsh disciplinary action against 16 pro-Ozawa members who earlier this month declared they will leave the party's parliamentary bloc and hinted they could vote against the budget-related bills, branding their moves ''unacceptable.''
