Ozawa: ‘The Destroyer’ Is Back in the Fray

Just a month and a half into his term, Naoto Kan’s tenure as Japan’s prime minister appears to have an expiration date. Members of his Democratic Party of Japan are blaming Kan for losing control of the Upper House in the July 11 elections, and several DPJ politicians have called for him to step down. The party may well toss Kan out in September, when he faces reelection as its leader.

The man likely to be at the center of the overthrow? Ichiro Ozawa, the most powerful political operator in Tokyo. Ozawa, who commands the largest faction within the DPJ, certainly has an ax to grind with Kan. When the controversial politician stepped down in June to improve the party’s chances, Kan installed an Ozawa rival as his replacement and said Ozawa should “stay quiet.” Ozawa, for his part, is said to be furious with Kan’s half-baked plan to raise taxes, which reversed DPJ campaign pledges and ultimately cost the party the election.

At the moment, the most plausible scenario is that Ozawa or one of his lieutenants will run against Kan to oust him. A more frightening outcome for the DPJ is that Ozawa and his underlings could bolt the party out of frustration. The chances of that happening are remote, but Ozawa is still known as “the destroyer” for founding and wrecking three parties in the past two decades. Regardless of whether he goes or stays, Tokyo will now be preoccupied with political infighting rather than working to fix the nation’s problems.