DPJ Ozawa urged to resign in the face of public criticism: JCP Ichida

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

DPJ Ozawa urged to resign in the face of public criticism: JCP Ichida

Commenting on Democratic Party President Ozawa Ichiro's declaration on May 11 of his resignation, Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi said, "He was compelled to resign in the face of unceasing public criticism of his alleged involvement in the acceptance of illegal political funds from Nishimatsu Construction Co."

Speaking at a news conference in the Diet on the same day, he criticized Ozawa and the Democratic Party for failing to account for their role in the fund-raising scandal.

Ichida also said, "This is a serious matter and he must not bring down the curtain on this scandal by just making a resignation announcement."

"Regarding this scandal, no one emerged from within the DPJ to take the initiative to clean house. All they did was just argue whether the incident will hurt the DPJ in the upcoming general election or not. With such an attitude, how can the Democratic Party expect to seek support from the public?"

Ozawa at the news conference stated that he has nothing to hide, continuing to take an irresponsible attitude toward the allegation of his involvement in illegal fund-raising practices.

Criticizing Ozawa for this "so-what" attitude, JCP Ichida emphasized that he was in essence admitting that the Democratic Party is no different from the ruling LDP in that it has also been caught in the tangled web of money politics.

- Akahata, May 12, 2009