Appointing Ozawa as acting president shows DPJ has no sense of accountability regarding receipt of illegal funds from Nishimatsu: JCP Shii

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Appointing Ozawa as acting president shows DPJ has no sense of accountability regarding receipt of illegal funds from Nishimatsu: JCP Shii

Commenting on the Democratic Party of Japan's announcement on May 18 that it appointed former Democratic Party President Ozawa Ichiro to be the acting DPJ president, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo said, "The appointment is irresponsible in that the allegation of Nishimatsu Construction Co.'s illegal donations (to Mr. Ozawa) has not been resolved."

Shii made the remark at a news conference on May 19.

Shii pointed out that former DPJ President Ozawa has maintained that he did nothing wrong in accepting donations from Nishimatsu Construction Co.

"The new DPJ president, Hatoyama Yukio, has been defending Ozawa even after he became the DPJ leader," Shii said.

"Hatoyama appointed Ozawa to be acting president of the DPJ, the highest rank next to the president. This shows that the Democratic Party refuses to be held accountable for the millions of yen in bribes that Nishimatsu channeled to Ozawa while he was president of the DPJ.

- Akahata, May 20, 2009