Ozawa in trouble as climate changes in Japan
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Ozawa's efforts, by contrast, were dogged by "money and politics" rumors. With Ozawa's "evil" image fanned by Kan and the Maehara faction, the people spoke and Ozawa was defeated. This gives the Democratic Party and its cabinet a new look.
In addition to Maehara, politicians such as Yukio Edano, Koichiro Gemba and Goshi Hosono flank Kan as the new core of the Democratic Party. These politicians all advocate harsh Chinese policies. They want to exert pressure on China over political reform and human rights issues.
Ozawa's relationship with the prosecution has always been fraught. If Ozawa is arrested, what will happen to the DPJ? In a country like Japan, is there any means of preventing the prosecuting authority from getting out of control?
The conflict between Ozawa and the media is due to Ozawa's active advocacy of the reform of the Japanese National Press Club system. But the reform, which directly harms the vital interests of Japan's major media, is at a standstill. Ozawa is the person with the strongest motive and greatest ability to carry out the reform.
Ozawa, who is known for his political iron fist, proposed an economic stimulus plan in 1996 and stood against Koizumi's postal reform in 2002.
These positions were criticized at that time but both later turned out to be right. The "de-bureaucratic reform", "district sovereignty reform" and "make Japan an ordinary country" campaign advocated by Ozawa are widely accepted in Japanese society.
Japanese media keep criticizing politicians' lack of leadership; on the other hand, when an ambitious political leader stands up, they go all out to attack and slander that person. Within the DPJ, the anti-Ozawa group acts in the same way, not ruling out "to persuade him to leave the party."
In a situation where there is no clearly-defined national strategy, Japan would be better off betting on the wisdom and decisiveness of Ichiro Ozawa rather than letting a group of young politicians take over with the aim of "divorcing from Asia and joining Europe."
Despite the fact that Japan has no other real choice, it continues to give Ozawa the cold shoulder.
Whether Ichiro Ozawa can break through the obstacles and avoid the fate of Tanaka Kakuei remains to be seen.
The author is director of Tokyo-based Asia-Pacific Political and Economic Research Center. forum@globaltimes.com.cn
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