Japanese politicians

Check to the kingpin

Sep 27th 2011, 10:38 by A.K. and H.T. | TOKYO

·         But on September 26th, Mr Ozawa’s position appears to have been weakened substantially. Three of his former lieutenants were convicted (with suspended jail sentences) of having broken the Political Funds Control Law, to observers’ surprise. Mr Ozawa’s trial on similar charges starts next week. It is not clear whether there is any hard evidence linking Mr Ozawa to the illegal money his aides are supposed to have taken on behalf of his political organisation. It is, however, worth noting that the Tokyo District court, which sentenced the three, stated in its decision that there were “cosy relationships over the years between Mr Ozawa’s office and companies”. Those companies were the ones that bid for lucrative public-works contracts, some in Mr Ozawa’s home state.

·         The outcome of Mr Ozawa’s trial, which is expected to finish next April, is bound to influence the long-running civil war between Mr Ozawa’s group in the DPJ and those on the anti-Ozawa side. Of late, this struggle has gone mercifully quiet. The fledgling prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, has made a point of not trying to antagonise the Ozawa faction, and has given key posts in the DPJ to the kingpin’s allies. Indeed, some say Mr Noda has gone too far. Others, however, believe Mr Ozawa does not represent as much of a threat as he once did.

·         The immediate danger for Mr Noda is that the judgment against the three men once again puts Mr Ozawa in the opposition’s line of fire. In his first weeks in office, Mr Noda has done his best to avoid the pointless personality clashes that characterise Japanese politics; he wants everyone to focus on policy—in this case rebuilding the Tohoku region shattered by the earthquake and tsunami of March 11th and fixing the effects of the Fukushima nuclear-power plant meltdown. But the LDP and its handmaidens in the national media will do their best to undermine this effort. Much of the Japanese establishment (including the DPJ) appears to have a sick obsession with personality and power struggles, and seem only too happy to let policy debates fall by the wayside, however urgent they are. Already Nobuteru Ishihara, the LDP’s secretary-general, has called for Mr Ozawa’s resignation from the parliament; others have called on him to testify before the Diet. All of this puts Mr Noda, who blithely calls himself the “no sides” politician, in a delicate position. He will be loth to antagonise the Ozawa crowd by echoing the LDP; but he will also be deeply reluctant to revive old hostilities with the LDP when he needs its support to pass reconstruction bills. It should be a good test of Mr Noda’s mettle. Don’t expect Mr Ozawa to co-operate, however. As weakened as he is, it is probably too much to expect he will behave in a way that is good for anyone but himself.

·         (Picture credit: AFP)

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Check to the kingpin

Sep 28th 2011, 09:40

Ichiro Ozawa, who once arrogantly challenged the former prime minister Naoto Kan last September to take the seat, now faces many difficulties only to diminish the share of DPJ. This funniest fox in Japan must feel embarrassed about the position he should stands in and about the next step. For at least 20 years, he has conflicted too many political figures by using cunniest means including the same party’s comrade and most of then prime ministers so that the more and more people alienated him and for the time being tell him that don’t play anymore. I think that the only choice for him is to leave this political arena for a better and more comfortable retirement.

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這裡聊小澤一郎的兩難困境，於之後10月6日東京地方法院審理被控違反「政治資金規正法」。此前2009年時小澤即面對過非法收取政治獻金的疑雲。從自由民主黨出身「竹下登七奉行」，多次和首相位置擦身而過。村山富市一役後退出變成新進黨，及自由黨，再一次短暫聯合原自民黨後確立加入新成立的民主黨，日本形成勉強有兩黨制的形式。在鳩山由紀夫任首相前的派系屬小澤派就是最多。目前維持一小黨生活黨中。