(Mainichi Japan) January 21, 2010
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Secretary-General Ichiro Ozawa was deeply involved in a questionable land deal that led to the recent arrests of his aides, it has emerged.
Ozawa's former aide Tomohiro Ishikawa, 36, told the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office that he consulted with Ozawa before borrowing from him the funds to purchase a land lot in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward in 2004.
"I could have scraped up enough money to purchase the land, but since such an arrangement would make Rikuzan-kai (Ozawa's fund-management organization) lose its operating funds, I consulted with Mr. Ozawa and borrowed 400 million yen from him," Ishikawa was quoted as telling prosecutors.
Ishikawa, a DPJ member of the House of Representatives, also told prosecutors that he consulted with Takanori Okubo, 48, a state-paid secretary to Ozawa, over the issue. Both Okubo and Ishikawa have been arrested on charges of violating the Law to Regulate Money Used for Political Activities in connection with the land deal.
According to sources close to the case, Ishikawa was asked by Okubo in the fall of 2004 if he could raise 400 million yen to purchase the land through Rikuzan-kai and other sources. Ishikawa replied that he could gather the amount, but that such an arrangement would make Rikuzan-kai short of operating funds. "Let's consult with Mr. Ozawa," the two agreed, and eventually borrowed 400 million yen from him, the sources said.
Prosecutors have so far confirmed that Okubo found the land lot near Ozawa's residence in Setagaya Ward, which Ozawa confirmed during a walk and instructed Okubo to purchase it. Ishikawa then took over the accounting procedures for the land deal. The land is currently home to a dormitory for secretaries to Ozawa.
Ishikawa used the 400 million yen he received from Ozawa to purchase the land, costing some 352 million yen, but failed to report the money flow in Rikuzan-kai's political funding report in 2004. Meanwhile, 400 million yen was placed in a term deposit, an amount combining Rikuzan-kai's funds and some 180 million yen funneled through three political organizations. The deposit was used as collateral to borrow 400 million yen from financial institutions under the name of Ozawa, and the amount was listed in Rikuzan-kai's political funding report in 2004 as a loan from Ozawa.
Sources including a former executive of mid-ranking contractor Mizutani Kensetsu have reportedly told prosecutors that they handed over 50 million yen to Ishikawa in return for winning a subcontract for the construction of Isawa Dam in Iwate Prefecture around the same time.
Prosecutors are apparently questioning Ishikawa over the intricate accounting procedures and whether the funds provided by Mizutani Kensetsu were included in the financial sources for the land deal.
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