DPJ leader Ozawa says he'll do his best to oust LDP from power

Wednesday 08th April, 06:03 AM JST

TOKYO —

Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa, mired in a fundraising scandal, vowed anew Tuesday to do his best toward ousting the ruling Liberal Democratic Party from power, after three years since taking up the top position of the main opposition party. ‘‘As I have said many times, my primary goal is to achieve a regime change and I believe that’s what the public needs,’’ Ozawa told a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

Asked what changes he has seen in his party over the three years, he said DPJ lawmakers now believe that they can take over the helm one day, while many of them used to be haunted by the idea that they would never get out of the opposition camp.

The DPJ looked set to win the next general election, which must be held by the fall, but their prospects have been clouded by last month’s breakout of the fundraising scandal in which Ozawa’s top secretary was arrested and indicted over a breach of the political funds control law.

Eyes are now riveted to the party’s planned public poll set to be held within this month, as Ozawa has said that he will stay on as DPJ leader but has also indicated that a decision on his future will be left to the public.

Some political observers say that he will stick to the post regardless of the survey’s outcome, but Kazuhisa Kawakami, professor at Meiji Gakuin University, said that the opposition leader should brace for harsh results against him and that the results could offer him ‘‘a reason to quit.’‘

‘‘Unless President Ozawa steps down, there is really very little chance that the DPJ can win the election,’’ Kawakami said. ‘‘If the leader is replaced, however, that leaves a possibility of winning.’‘

Since the arrest of the secretary in early March, many public surveys have showed that voters think Ozawa should resign.

Ozawa said Tuesday that the party will get itself ready for the upcoming election, which could take place shortly after an extra budget for fiscal 2009, which is set to be compiled Friday by the government, clears parliament as early as May.

Prime Minister Taro Aso has hinted at the possibility that he may dissolve the House of Representatives for a snap election before the enactment of the envisaged extra budget if the opposition bloc is against it.

Ozawa, 66, became DPJ leader in April 2006 to replace Seiji Maehara who stepped down amid a fake e-mail fiasco involving a rank-and-file DPJ lawmaker.

Ozawa’s most trusted ally, DPJ Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama, recalled that ‘‘we were then at a critical moment and our fate was at stake,’’ when speaking at a press conference last week.

Ozawa deserves praise for bringing the party to a point where it is almost certain to wrest power from the ruling bloc of the LDP and the New Komeito party, Hatoyama said.

Under the leadership of Ozawa, the DPJ scored a landslide victory in the House of Councillors election in July 2007, becoming the largest party in the upper house.

But pundits argue that the DPJ, which would need to tie up with small opposition parties if it wins most lower house seats in the election yet fails to rack up a majority, should set a clear direction on security issues, the topic over which the party and others remain split.

On Tuesday, the Social Democratic Party, which is expected to form some sort of an alliance with the DPJ, sat out a lower house vote for adopting a resolution condemning Sunday’s rocket launch by North Korea, while the DPJ endorsed the resolution.

Ozawa slammed the government for its ‘‘sloppy handling’’ of the emergency situation, referring to the government releasing misinformation Saturday on the launch.

He pointed out that the government and international society should already have been showing a firm stance against North Korea, as it was predicted earlier that the reclusive state would use a ‘‘dangerous’’ diplomacy card and the world is under threat.

› Login to comment

11 Comments

some14some at 08:01 AM JST - 8th April

It's the people (voters) who will do their best to keep LDP in power :)
thepro at 09:55 AM JST - 8th April

yawn
magpie at 10:05 AM JST - 8th April

For a guy who's so scared to debate with Aso that his party rejects calls for leader debates....what a joke!

Yes I'll try my best to oust the LDP from power, can you contribute funds through my private secretary? It's illegal? No don't worry, we'll get you a project in my hometown to make it worthwhile....
tkoind2 at 10:26 AM JST - 8th April

Ok... Then what?

More of the same?

This party is no better than the LDP. It is like choosing between two brands of generic vanilla icecream.

Japan needs change. Real change, not just a change of who the payouts are going to. Japan needs leaders who are not already corrupt and overly invested in retaining the status quo. We need leaders who are devoted to the idea of breaking the past power structure and replacing it with one that better represents and cares for the well being of the general population.

Anything short of this will not help Japan recover. Period!

Osawa... Aso with a less annoying smirk.
UnagiDon at 10:39 AM JST - 8th April

tkoind2;

Well said, sir!

Expect the DPJ to be voted in, promptly disappoint, then either more of the same (i.e. LDP comeback) or a total upheaval of the political system. I'm hoping for the latter, but expect the former.
solarbuster at 11:40 AM JST - 8th April

Politicians have never been any good at nation building that is the nature of the beast and Japan has nobody on the political scene with leadership qualities. Japan would be best just sacking all the politicians and getting an administrator to run things until some one with leadership skills appears.
Yelnats at 02:54 PM JST - 8th April

I do not know about most of you, but I am sick of these rich power brokers in Japan. Those stupid posters are everywhere, and you can get arrested if you remove one. Should go around like Daffy Duck and draw mustaches on all of them.
magpie at 04:42 PM JST - 8th April

tkoind2. Bravo agree (though I have to say Vanilla's my favourite ice cream flavour...).

I'm not an expert on Japanese political system, but the problem seems to stem from the fact that you are voting for a party and not really an individual in an election. The PM is chosen amongst the party members and not by the voters themselves right?

In such a situation, there is no accountability and you will probably work with the objective of maintaining teh status quo.
Shumatsu_Samurai at 05:03 PM JST - 8th April

magpie

I'm not an expert on Japanese political system, but the problem seems to stem from the fact that you are voting for a party and not really an individual in an election. The PM is chosen amongst the party members and not by the voters themselves right?

Japan has a Parliamentary system so of course the Prime Minister is chosen by the party. You vote for individuals at local level even if you are making your decision based on the political party.

I don't like the presidential system, which is what you seem to be backing. Even if Japan had one it wouldn't make a difference because the parties would still mess around with legislation in the Diet. Japan needs new leaders, especially the DPJ so that it becomes a party ready to take power rather than stay in opposition forever.
CZAR202030 at 08:09 AM JST - 9th April

Yes,right the present LDP was alike the Hindenberg's Germany.
magpie at 03:41 PM JST - 9th April

Shumatsu Samurai, Appreciated and acknowledged. Leadership I agree comes down to the individuals concerned. In a conformist society though where a lot of things are done via concensus management, there is so much room for an individual to do nothing. If you put a guy under the spotlight and make him accountable for what he promises to do, will that change things? I don't know.