Word: ozawa
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...scandal over the mishandling of more than 50 million pension-fund accounts. None of these crises, Abe maintained, directly prompted his plans to depart once the LDP chooses a new PM next week. Instead, Abe put most of the blame on a snub by one man: opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa, whom the PM claimed had refused to meet to discuss a stalemate over whether Japan would continue to refuel American military vessels participating in the U.S.-led war on terror. "Even though I had requested a party-leader talk, Ozawa rejected my overture," said Abe in his resignation speech, implying...
...issues. Even though Japan has finally crept out of recession, the PM failed to address a perception that only corporate fat cats were profiting from the recovery. On July 29, the public delivered its verdict at the polls. For the first time in 52 years, opposition forces led by Ozawa's Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) wrested control of the Upper House of the Diet, Japan's parliament, from the LDP. The drubbing echoed a lesson that former U.S. President George H.W. Bush learned back in 1992 when he was booted from office. "It's the economy, stupid," says Richard...
...extend legislation allowing the Japanese navy to refuel American ships supporting military operations in Afghanistan past a Nov. 1 deadline. Abe argued that the DPJ's opposition to the naval commitment would only reinforce Japan's image as an immature global power unwilling to pull its weight. Ozawa retorted that the mission breached the constitution...
...throw in the towel? Plagued by rumors of chronic ill health, he looked exhausted in the days before his resignation announcement. "Abe broke under the pressure," says Norihiko Narita, a politics professor at Surugadai University near Tokyo. "The weight of his responsibilities was just too much." For his part, Ozawa expressed bewilderment over the about-face. "I have been in politics nearly 40 years, and this is the first time I've seen a case like this," he said. "I actually have no idea what's on Abe's mind...
...health had been suffering - though they offered no details - but Abe's surrender just three days into a new Diet sessions seemed less compromise than a failure of political nerve. "In my almost 40 years in politics, it's the first time I've seen this," said Ichiro Ozawa, the leader...