Word: toshikawa
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...areas where Ozawa has political influence. Ozawa bowed to cries for his resignation from within the party just months before August's Lower House elections. That move, however, did not satisfy the prosecutors, an influential group of Japanese officials with the power to investigate any criminal offense. Takao Toshikawa, editor of political newsletter Tokyo Insideline, says that Ozawa and his mentors have been fighting various battles with the office since the late 1970s. "At this moment, the Prosecutors Office and Ozawa are fighting the final war," says Toshikawa. (See pictures of Japan in the 1980s and today...
...long been controlled by the LDP. But that doesn't diminish the fact that similar investigations have occurred in the past. Says Dujarric: "Prosecutors, from time to time, like to indict someone powerful. It was done in the era of LDP, and now Ozawa is getting a visit." Toshikawa says it's possible that a special investigation team will search Ozawa's home in early February. And depending on what they find, he says, it might lead to Ozawa's arrest...
...meantime, Toshikawa says the situation between Ozawa and Hatoyama is delicate. He says, "Hatoyama isn't enjoying Ozawa's frequent interference" on issues from the budget to what to do about the Futenma base relocation. But, he adds, Hatoyama needs Ozawa's support and that of the DPJ to pass the 2010 budget, which will require patience through the end of March...
...Hatoyama's desire to wait until next year, discussions later this week could cast a shadow over the alliance. "Hatoyama is reluctant to decide by the end of the year, and [if he doesn't] that will cause a sensitive and difficult situation for the two countries," says Takao Toshikawa, editor of political newsletter Insideline. (See pictures of Japan in the 1980s and today...
...Insideline's Toshikawa says that by waiting on the mayoral election in Nago and then the Okinawa prefectural election next November, Hatoyama - by upholding his campaign promise to respect Okinawa's say in the matter - would make it difficult to stay on point with the 2006 agreement. "On major issues of diplomacy and defense, the government should consider local elections - but it can become an obstacle." Toshikawa also says that Hatoyama's handling of this issue, by fielding the different plans of his ministers, is characteristic of his desire to "unify his Cabinet." The problem, says Toshikawa, is that Hatoyama...