Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Yukio
Hatoyama faced fierce grilling Tuesday by opposition lawmakers
over funds scandals involving him and his ruling party's no.
2, Ichiro Ozawa, during parliamentary deliberations.
In a plenary session at the House of Representatives,
Tadamori Oshima, secretary general of the main opposition
Liberal Democratic Party, demanded that Ozawa of the
Democratic Party of Japan appear at the Diet to provide an
account on his funding scandal that led to the arrests of
three people close to him.
Oshima also said, "The DPJ's ability to cleanse itself is
being questioned," arguing that the governing party has the
responsibility to clarify the scandals.
But Hatoyama responded that the case concerning Ozawa is
under investigation by prosecutors and the task of clarifying
the affair should be left in the hands of investigative
authorities.
He also reiterated that he would not intervene into
prosecutors' investigations, saying, "I have no intention of
exercising my command rights" as head of the administrative
body.
Hatoyama made the remarks in response to a question by
Oshima, in which he asked what exactly Hatoyama's recent
remarks, which were widely construed as recommending that
Ozawa fight against the prosecutors to clear his name,
had meant.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, January 19, 2010, 15:55