Democratic Party of Japan executives made last-ditch efforts Friday to form a unified stance in dealing with DPJ kingpin Ichiro Ozawa over the financial scandal for which he faces indictment.
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At stake is whether to ask Ozawa, a former DPJ chief, to testify before the House of Representatives Ethics Panel over the alleged false funds reporting by his political body.
DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada plans to convene a meeting of party executives Monday to decide whether to put to a vote a move to summon Ozawa to the panel.
But DPJ lawmakers close to Ozawa are refusing to back the plan to have him testify, while Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who heads the ruling party, is apparently starting to lose his grip on power.
It remains uncertain if Okada, who has been entrusted by Kan to deal with Ozawa, will be able to win enough support from other DPJ executives to issue a Diet summons.
Kan is likely to skip the DPJ meeting. Facing reporters in the evening, he ducked the question of whether Ozawa will be expelled from the party in the event he ignores a request to appear before the panel, saying only that he "approves" Okada's stance.
On Thursday, DPJ lawmakers said the executives of the party will not rule out penalizing Ozawa, including up to expulsion, if he refuses to give the Diet an explanation of the financial scandal for which he faces indictment.
Depending on Ozawa's reaction, he could be ousted from the DPJ. The executives got New Komeito to agree to vote in favor of summoning him.
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