Ichiro Ozawa

Guilty verdicts upheld for 3 former Ozawa aides
Lower House member Tomohiro Ishikawa on March 13, after the Tokyo District Court rejected his appeal. At left is Muneo Suzuki, leader of New Party Daichi, to which Ishikawa belongs. (Shogo Koshida)
The Tokyo High Court upheld guilty verdicts on March 13 for three former aides of political heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa over falsified reporting of his fund management body's...
Kada, Ozawa split up anti-nuclear Tomorrow Party of ...
Yukiko Kada, leader of the Tomorrow Party of Japan, and Lower House member Ichiro Ozawa announce the split of the party at a news conference in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, on Dec. 28. (Eijiro Morii)
The anti-nuclear Tomorrow Party of Japan has already disintegrated.
Ozawa clearly still a force to be reckoned with
Ichiro Ozawa, left, and Yukiko Kada (Asahi Shimbun file photos)
Yukiko Kada, an anti-nuclear governor now at the center of national attention, is coming to grips with the fact her newly formed Nippon Mirai no To (Japan Future Party) is...
Ozawa, Kamei to fight election on anti-nuclear line
Ichiro Ozawa at a press conference on Nov. 19 (Hiroki Endo)
Two veteran politicians hoping to draw support for their small parties are drawing a line in the sand against nuclear power, a key issue in the Dec. 16 Lower House election.
Ozawa cleared of violating Political Fund Control...
Ichiro Ozawa heads to the Tokyo High Court on Nov. 12 to hear the verdict in his case. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Lawyers serving as prosecutors on Nov. 19 decided against appealing a political fund reporting case involving political heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa to the Supreme Court, a week...
Weakened Ozawa remains intent on rallying third...
Ichiro Ozawa attends an event themed on international exchanges in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on Nov. 12. (Naoko Kawamura)
Once on the verge of becoming prime minister, prolonged investigations and a court fight over a land deal have taken a toll on Ichiro Ozawa, now a scarred political heavyweight ...
High court gives Ozawa stronger vindication than...
Ichiro Ozawa, middle, enters the Tokyo High Court on Nov. 12. (Shiro Nishihata)
In a ruling reaffirming his innocence more explicitly than a lower court did in April, the Tokyo High Court on Nov. 12 found political heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa not guilty of...
Small parties eye cooperation as DPJ shrinks with 2 ...
The Asahi Shimbun
Japan's ruling coalition is on the brink of losing its Lower House majority as two more members defected, and smaller parties scramble to build alliances ahead of a looming...
EDITORIAL: DPJ election a chance for party to...
The ruling Democratic Party of Japan has announced it will hold an election to choose a new party leader on Sept. 21.
Anti-nuclear protests signal new activism in Japan
Protesters hold handmade signs and banners criticizing the restart of the Oi nuclear power plant and the government's appointment of a new nuclear regulator in front of the prime minister's office on Aug. 17. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
This is Japan's summer of discontent. Tens of thousands of protesters--the largest demonstrations the country has seen in decades--descend on Tokyo every Friday evening to...
Ozawa’s new party aims to abolish all nuclear...
Ichiro Ozawa shows the logo of his new party, People’s Life First, in Tokyo on Aug. 1. (Mari Endo)
Veteran powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa said Aug. 1 his new party would campaign for all nuclear power plants to be abolished within 10 years.
UPDATE: Japan eyes political shakeup after Ozawa...
Ichiro Ozawa (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Japanese political veteran Ichiro Ozawa and dozens of other lawmakers who quit the ruling party over a tax hike plan launched a new party on July 11 in a bid to challenge the...
Japan ruling party defectors to form new party on...
Ichiro Ozawa, shown in a July 4 meeting with rebel lawmakers from his group, decided to form a new party on July 11. (The Asahi Shimbun)
Japanese political heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa and dozens of other members of parliament who quit the ruling party in protest over a planned sales tax increase decided on July 4...
INSIGHT: Noda's 'relief' in post-Ozawa DPJ could be ...
Ichiro Ozawa responds to reporters on July 2 after submitting a letter of resignation to the Democratic Party of Japan. (Satoru Semba)
In June 1993, 54 lawmakers bolted from the ruling party, which was replaced by a coalition government two months later. Nearly two decades later, on July 2, 50 lawmakers left...
EDITORIAL: Opportunity is ripe for DPJ to improve...
Veteran political fixer Ichiro Ozawa and 49 loyalists effectively resigned from the ruling Democratic Party of Japan on July 2.
VOX POPULI: Discord in DPJ ranks means end of...
As a child, I once bought "colored chicks" at a festival stall. At first, I found my new pets amusing, but soon I was disillusioned as I realized that the young birds had been...
Ozawa, followers submit resignation letters, plan...
Ichiro Ozawa seeks cooperation from Iwate Governor Takuya Tasso on July 1. (Kazuki Yoshikawa)
Political kingmaker Ichiro Ozawa took a step toward forming a new party when he and 49 other lawmakers submitted letters of resignation to the ruling Democratic Party of Japan...
Ozawa to decide July 2 on whether to leave DPJ
Ichiro Ozawa talks to reporters after he met with Azuma Koshiishi, secretary-general of the Democratic Party of Japan, on June 29. (Satoru Semba)
Political heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa said he will wait until July 2 to decide whether to throw the ruling party in disarray by leaving to protest Prime Minister Yoshihiko...
Noda's tax success may fail to end Japan deadlock
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
After years of policy paralysis in Japan, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has pushed a much-needed but unpopular sales tax hike through the lower house of parliament, but the...
ASAHI POLL: Only 15% of voters have expectations...
Ichiro Ozawa, center, casts a vote against a bill to raise the consumption tax rate in the Lower House on June 26. (Jun Ueda)
An overwhelming 78 percent of voters do not expect much from a new party that political heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa says he may form, as opposed to 15 percent who do, an Asahi...