標題:Scandal Threatens Japan’s Opposition
新聞來源: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/05/world/asia/05japan.html?_r=
1&ref=world
TOKYO -- A growing scandal over campaign donations is threatening the
Japanese opposition leader, Ichiro Ozawa, just as his party appears
poised to unseat the long-governing Liberal Democratic Party, throwing
Japan’s political situation into further disarray.
On Wednesday, Mr. Ozawa, who heads the main opposition Democratic Party
of Japan, rejected calls for his resignation, a day after an aide was
arrested for allegedly taking illegal donations from a construction company.
The arrest threw his party into confusion turmoil, with some members
angrily denouncing the investigation by prosecutors as politically
motivated.
The arrest appeared certain to damage Mr. Ozawa’s party, which has
ridden public outrage with the scandal-plagued Liberal Democrats to
take the lead in polls ahead of general elections, which must be
called by September. A victory in those elections would have made Mr.
Ozawa prime minister, and wrested power from the Liberal Democrats
for only the second time in a half century.
The new turmoil will only add to the political paralysis that has
hampered Japan’s efforts to respond to the global financial crisis
and the nation’s longer-term economic decline, political analysts
said. The current prime minister, Taro Aso, has seen his approval
ratings drop into the single digits following verbal gaffes and the
resignation of his finance minister, who was criticized for appearing
to be drunk at a press conference in Rome.
“The timing is just too good to be true for the L.D.P.,” said Hirotada
Asakawa, an independent political analyst, referring to the Liberal
Democratic Party. “It makes the Democrats look just as tainted and
disordered as they are.”
In a hastily called press conference, Mr. Ozawa insisted that he and his
aide had done nothing illegal. He blasted the prosecutors for being
heavy-handed at a crucial moment in Japanese politics.
“I feel this is both politically and legally an extremely unfair exercise
of the power of the state and the power of the prosecutors’ office,”
Mr. Ozawa said. “And if you think about the maturity of Japanese
democracy,” he added, “it threatens democracy going forward.”
A leading member of the Democratic Party, Yukio Hatoyama, took the
accusation a step further, saying the timing of the arrest seemed
to be aimed at damaging the Democrats’ chance of winning the election.
“This feels like a conspiracy,” Mr. Hatoyama said Tuesday night.
“The ruling party is desperate. Doesn’t it look like they are trying
to find something improper where there is actually nothing?”
The justice minister, Eisuke Mori, a Liberal Democrat, dismissed the charge,
calling it “ridiculous” and inappropriate for a top official in a
“party that may one day hold power.”
Political analysts said it appeared unlikely that prosecutors acted on
behalf of the Liberal Democrats. But prosecutors have moved in the past
against challengers to Japan’s establishment. Three years ago, they
arrested an Internet entrepreneur, Takafumi Horie, for alleged securities
fraud, after he had launched a hostile takeover bid against a company
in one of Japan’s powerful media groups.
The current scandal is particularly painful for the Democrats because it
touches on one of the party’s weakest points among voters: concerns that
Mr. Ozawa, a veteran party leader, may prove no cleaner than the
scandal-ridden Liberal Democrats. Mr. Ozawa became a skilled fund raiser
and political strategist as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party,
but then bolted the party in 1993 to join the then fledgling opposition.
On Wednesday, prosecutors raided Mr. Ozawa’s offices as details of the
allegations against his aide continued to leak out into the local press.\
According to media reports, prosecutors believe the construction company,
Nishimatsu Construction, created two political groups to funnel some
$250,000 into Mr. Ozawa’s office over four years from 2003. Under
Japanese election laws, companies are barred from donating money to
individual politicians.
If the scandal remains limited to Mr. Ozawa and his party, the Liberal
Democrats may call the elections as early as next month, to take
advantage of voter disgust with the opposition, political analysts.
However, local media reports said prosecutors are also looking into
possible donations made to Liberal Democratic lawmakers, suggesting
the scandal may widen.
If that happens, it could take some of the heat off Mr. Ozawa, but also
ultimately lead to voter disillusionment with both parties.
“Voters will wonder what’s wrong with Japanese politics,” said Mr.
Asakawa, the analyst. “Everywhere has the same money problems and
dirty politics.”
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