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Japanese support Ozawa to lead opposition party

Veteran Japanese lawmaker Ichiro Ozawa, center, of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), speaks to reporters upon arrival at his office in Tokyo yesterday. Japanese voters believe Ozawa is the best candidate to head the DPJ as its support sags to a record low, polls showed. PHOTO: AFP

Japanese voters believe veteran conservative powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa is best suited to head the main opposition party whose support has sagged to a record low, polls showed yesterday.

Ozawa, 63, a former ruling party stalwart who has switched allegiances repeatedly over the past decade, published a best-selling 1993 book calling on pacifist Japan to build up a military and increase its international influence.

His main rival is Naoto Kan, 59, a former civil rights activist who is best known for exposing a scandal in which hospitals distributed HIV-contaminated blood. Kan has led the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) twice before.

Ozawa enjoyed 24 percent of voters' support to replace Seiji Maehara, a 43-year-old newcomer who stepped down as DPJ president last week after a failed attempt to discredit an aide to the premier, the Yomiuri Shimbun said.

He beat the 19 percent support for Kan, said the poll of 1,091 adults across party lines. Among DPJ backers, support for Ozawa rose to 32 percent against 27 percent for Kan, with the rest offering other choices or undecided.

Ozawa vowed Monday to fight the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner New Komeito.

"No matter what position I will be in, I will make more efforts than ever ... so that the LDP and Komeito lose their majority," he told reporters.

The DPJ lost voter confidence after it admitted it falsely accused a top aide to Koizumi of accepting secret cash from disgraced IT tycoon Takafumi Horie.

Maehara, a young conservative who took over after the DPJ was crushed in September polls, quit on Friday only six months into the job. The party is set to elect a new leader on Friday.
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