Following its defeat in Sunday's Lower House by-election in Hokkaido, the ruling Democratic Party of Japan is increasing pressure on party bigwig Ichiro Ozawa to testify in the Diet about his political fund scandal.
The DPJ is urging Ozawa, its former president, to appear at the Lower House's Deliberative Council on Political Ethics to ensure passage of crucial legislation related to the fiscal 2010 supplementary budget aimed at shoring up the faltering economy.
Opposition parties have demanded that Ozawa testify in the Diet.
Although the DPJ holds a majority in the Lower House, the coalition government lost its majority in the Upper House in July and needs cooperation from the opposition to pass the bills.
The DPJ is seeking cooperation from New Komeito in passing the supplementary budget at the Diet.
With the economy still sputtering, Prime Minister Naoto Kan's administration wants to start Diet deliberations on the supplementary budget bill as soon as possible instead of spending time arguing about Ozawa's legal problems.
"While (Ozawa) would have to decide himself, the supplementary budget is very important, and I think that of course he will keep that in mind in deciding (whether to appear at the political ethics council)," DPJ Secretary-General Katsuya Okada told reporters Sunday morning.
Okada also indicated he would discuss the issue with Ozawa.
Three of Ozawa's former aides have been indicted on charges of falsifying reports of his political fund management organization. Ozawa has denied any involvement in the scandal. But a prosecution inquest panel twice decided that Ozawa should be prosecuted, meaning he will automatically be indicted.
The "money and politics" issue was at the center of Sunday's by-election in the Hokkaido No. 5 district, which was called after a DPJ Lower House member resigned to take responsibility for illegal contributions to her campaign in summer 2009.
Former Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, who heads the largest faction in the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, defeated four candidates, including Shigeyuki Nakamae, 38, a former bureaucrat backed by the DPJ.
Shu Watanabe, chairman of the DPJ's Election Campaign Committee, told reporters Sunday night, "The money and politics issue is of course among the factors for our defeat."
A DPJ leader close to Kan was more specific: "We can say we lost because of Mr. Ozawa."
However, members of the Ozawa group within the DPJ, senior DPJ lawmakers in the Upper House and others oppose the idea of Ozawa testifying in the Diet.
Ozawa was quoted recently as saying defiantly: "Who will come to me (to ask me to appear before the Diet)? Does anybody have the guts?"
But Ozawa has repeatedly said he will "obey a decision by the Diet." One of his aides said Ozawa would have to consider attending the council "if Diet deliberations on the supplementary budget bill are stalled."
The supplementary budget bill will be submitted to the Diet on Friday.
The DPJ is also seeking cooperation with New Komeito in passing the fiscal 2011 budget bill, which will be sent to the Diet early next year.
Ozawa is not the only scandal-hit party bigwig affected by the DPJ's loss in the by-election. The LDP is expected to look into the political fund scandal of former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, sources said.
The biggest task for the LDP is maintaining unity with other opposition parties.
The LDP's preferred scenario is to vote against bills related to the fiscal 2011 budget next year in the Upper House to force a dissolution of the Lower House and a snap election. However, New Komeito prefers devoting its energy to campaigns for the nationwide local government elections slated for next spring.
Referring to the election outcome in Hokkaido, New Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi told reporters Sunday night, "A severe judgment was handed down on the DPJ's lack of enthusiasm toward the money and politics issue."
He declined to specify his party's plans concerning the supplementary budget, saying, "We'd like to decide after examining what the ruling parties will do and listening to the people."
Ryusei Uchiyama, a master "nebuta" craftsman from Aomori, works on a float at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward. (Photo by Keisuke Tanaka/ The Asahi Shimbun)
