Japan Press Weekly

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2009 April 29 - May 12 [SCANDAL]

Ozawa announces his resignation as DPJ leader

Democratic Party of Japan President Ozawa Ichiro on May 11 expressed his intention to resign, without making any effort to clear the allegation that his political action group collected illegal political funds from a construction firm.

At a news conference on the same day, he said that he is stepping down from the post of top leader “in order to ensure party unity in the upcoming House of Representatives general election, but he said nothing about the ongoing scandal over falsified political funding reports involving himself and Nishimatsu Construction Co.

Ozawa has been under severe public criticism of not resigning as DPJ leader because he neglected to fulfill his responsibility to clearly explain the situation to the public when his chief secretary was arrested and prosecuted over receiving suspicious donations from the builder in question.

Ozawa said, “If I am the object of media criticism, my resignation will help the party.”

The DPJ is expected to elect a new leader after House of Representatives discussions on the FY 2009 supplementary-budget.