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Most Japan voters want party kingpin to resign
Source: Agencies |
February 1, 2010, Monday
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THREE quarters of Japanese voters think ruling party kingpin Ichiro Ozawa should quit if a former aide is charged in a funding scandal, a poll showed today, raising pressure on the master strategist ahead of an election.
Ozawa's electioneering skills had been thought vital to the party's chances of winning the upper house poll expected in July, but he has come under fire after three current and former aides were arrested last month on suspicion of misreporting political donations.
In a poll by the Mainichi newspaper, 76 percent of respondents said they thought he should resign if one of the former aides, a member of parliament, is indicted. Media reports say the aide could be charged as soon as Thursday.
Voter support for Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's four-month-old government stood at 50 percent, down five points, but slightly higher than in several other recent polls.
The party must avoid policy deadlock as it struggles to balance economic stimulus and a fight against deflation with a rising debt and the needs of a rapidly ageing population.
Though he won a landslide in last year's general election, Hatoyama needs to win a majority in the upper house to enable him to pass laws smoothly without relying on a coalition with two small parties that differ with his ruling Democratic Party on security and economic policy.
Ozawa has repeatedly said he will stay in the key post of Democratic Party secretary-general, denying any intentional wrongdoing after he was questioned by prosecutors.
But increasingly negative public opinion could make him more of a liability than an asset for the Democrats and Hatoyama, who has previously said he would stand by Ozawa.
"It is a matter of course to show we can keep our house in order, but while the prosecutors are investigating, all we can do is watch over the situation calmly," Hatoyama was quoted by Kyodo news agency as saying when asked about similar comments by Transport Minister Seiji Maehara over the weekend.
Senior party lawmaker Yukio Edano also said at the weekend Ozawa should draw a line under the affair if his explanations failed to convince voters, the Nikkei newspaper said.
Hatoyama faced a grilling over Ozawa and about his own financial scandal in parliament today, but the Mainichi poll showed that 60 percent of respondents thought there was no need for Hatoyama himself to step down.
"What is important is not creating an image, but doing our best for the people," he said in response to opposition quizzing.
Analysts said the party would probably fare better with Ozawa out of the spotlight, though he would likely continue to operate behind the scenes.
"With criticism on the rise, the public is going to find it hard to understand if he stays on for the sake of the election," said Katsuhiko Nakamura, director of research at think tank Asian Forum Japan.
"The Ozawa affair is seen as part of the old-style politics that needed to be changed. If Ozawa resigns, that could be taken as sign the party is sloughing that off and progressing to a new style. That could give them a fair chance at the election."
Ozawa's electioneering skills had been thought vital to the party's chances of winning the upper house poll expected in July, but he has come under fire after three current and former aides were arrested last month on suspicion of misreporting political donations.
In a poll by the Mainichi newspaper, 76 percent of respondents said they thought he should resign if one of the former aides, a member of parliament, is indicted. Media reports say the aide could be charged as soon as Thursday.
Voter support for Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's four-month-old government stood at 50 percent, down five points, but slightly higher than in several other recent polls.
The party must avoid policy deadlock as it struggles to balance economic stimulus and a fight against deflation with a rising debt and the needs of a rapidly ageing population.
Though he won a landslide in last year's general election, Hatoyama needs to win a majority in the upper house to enable him to pass laws smoothly without relying on a coalition with two small parties that differ with his ruling Democratic Party on security and economic policy.
Ozawa has repeatedly said he will stay in the key post of Democratic Party secretary-general, denying any intentional wrongdoing after he was questioned by prosecutors.
But increasingly negative public opinion could make him more of a liability than an asset for the Democrats and Hatoyama, who has previously said he would stand by Ozawa.
"It is a matter of course to show we can keep our house in order, but while the prosecutors are investigating, all we can do is watch over the situation calmly," Hatoyama was quoted by Kyodo news agency as saying when asked about similar comments by Transport Minister Seiji Maehara over the weekend.
Senior party lawmaker Yukio Edano also said at the weekend Ozawa should draw a line under the affair if his explanations failed to convince voters, the Nikkei newspaper said.
Hatoyama faced a grilling over Ozawa and about his own financial scandal in parliament today, but the Mainichi poll showed that 60 percent of respondents thought there was no need for Hatoyama himself to step down.
"What is important is not creating an image, but doing our best for the people," he said in response to opposition quizzing.
Analysts said the party would probably fare better with Ozawa out of the spotlight, though he would likely continue to operate behind the scenes.
"With criticism on the rise, the public is going to find it hard to understand if he stays on for the sake of the election," said Katsuhiko Nakamura, director of research at think tank Asian Forum Japan.
"The Ozawa affair is seen as part of the old-style politics that needed to be changed. If Ozawa resigns, that could be taken as sign the party is sloughing that off and progressing to a new style. That could give them a fair chance at the election."
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