Simultaneous raids on Ozawa and his aide are a warning to DPJ: JCP Shii

Japan Press Weekly

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

Simultaneous raids on Ozawa and his aide are a warning to DPJ: JCP Shii

Focusing on a dubious land deal by Ozawa Ichiro, Democratic Party secretary general, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on January 13 searched the offices of Rikuzankai (Ozawa’s fund managing body), Ozawa, and Ishikawa Tomohiro (House of Representatives member, DPJ), as well as the head office of the major general contractor construction firm, KAJIMA CORPORATION, on suspicion of violating the Political Funds Control Law.

Despite Ozawa’s refusal to answer prosecutors’ questions, the scandal over the money involving the key DPJ leader has reached new heights.

The January 10 issue of the Sunday Akahata revealed that Mizutani Construction, a mid-sized general contractor construction firm, secretly gave Ozawa a total of 100 million yen in October 2004 and in April 2005.

Although Ishikawa, a former Rikuzankai official, told investigators that Ozawa’s personal fund was used to buy the land for 400 million yen, suspicion is growing that the source of the purchasing fund came from general contractor construction firms.

Asked by reporters on January 13 regarding the prosecutors’ search of Ozawa and his group’s offices, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo stated, “The fact that prosecutors raided the political action group of the ruling party’s secretary general underlines the seriousness of the allegations.”

“Despite the revelation of the dubious flow of 400 million yen in connection with the land deal, Ozawa at the January 12 news conference refused to answer basic questions. He must fulfill his accountability for the dubious illegal money transfers.”

Shii pointed out that Ozawa’s scandal is multilayered with the illegal fund donation from Nishimatsu Construction, his land deals, and the secret disposal of the government subsidies to the Japan Renewal party (Shinseito) and the Liberal Party (Jiyuto), both led and disbanded by Ozawa.

Citing disguised fund raising activities by Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio, Shii warned, “Now that the two top leaders of the Democratic Party have been under fire for their suspicious involvements in the ‘politics and money’ scandal, the DPJ is called upon to come clean on the allegations by fully investigating the matter and making its findings open to the public.”

“The DPJ is also called upon to take steps without delay to ban corporate donations which the party promised in its 2008 general election manifesto,” Shii added.

- Akahata, January 14, 2010