crime

3 of Ozawa's aides convicted over political funding violations

33 Comments

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33 Comments
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What? They got a suspended prison term for this? I think I will become a criminal too if you can get away that easily with crimes here.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

And Ozawa once again like a greased pig escapes.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Does this mean Ozawa got off scott free?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

You can't catch....The Man.

Those 3 that were convicted were Samurai. They must die for their master. Being the scapegoat for the boss in Japan is an honor.

-5 ( +1 / -5 )

Suspended doesn't mean not guilty. They have been convicted of a crime and that is going to stick. It petty in comparison to a lot of other crimes in comparison and nobody got hurt, so how many years do you think they should get?

0 ( +2 / -1 )

As long as these stupid judges hand out suspended sentences, these crimes will never stop. These Ozawa henchmen belong in prison.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Does this mean Ozawa got off scott free?

No! Please read the article again. It states he will appear in a separate trial on Oct 6. However, he will only receive a suspended sentence if anything. No doubt he has bribed his underlings to scape goat for him.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

@yubaru - nobody got hurt? just think of all his behind the scenes shennigans and how much MONEY was used, siphoned, and who knows what else. i think the taxpayers and the country was HURT bad.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Bets that Ozawa will also get a suspended sentence IF he's found guilty? Crime does pay in this country!

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Ozawa is a bully and a crook, he needs serious jailtime

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Would love to see Ozawa and Ishihara go head to head in a arrogance & corrupt contest. Followed by a dam good thrashing by the audience :)

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Pathetic sentences for these crimes of bribery, fraud and corruption, 5 years would have sent a message to the other politicians & crooks in this syndicate. Ozawa will likely walk without a conviction.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

"Suspended sentences", once again.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

These guys borrowed Y400,000,000 from Ozawa, yet no one is asking where the money came from. When Ozawa disclosed his assets he claimed they came to less than Y200,000,000, so that is a lie right there.

If Ozawa suddenly has Y400 million that is unaccounted for why isn't the tax office investigating? Has he paid tax on that money? If not, why not? Why is the tax office turning a blind eye to blatant tax evasion?

More to the point: why are the utterly useless Japanese journalists ignoring this?

3 ( +3 / -0 )

“I will continue my political activity and keep fighting in court,” Ishikawa said, adding that he feared the conviction would affect Ozawa politically.

He's been convicted and so now we'll have another criminal in parliament. 'Feared the conviction would affect Ozawa' - I certainly hope it does.

Ozawa is too big a fish to do time

Big slippery slimy eel is what I had in mind!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Amazing what sheep followers of English media are on this site about this topic.

3 people convicted based on purely circumstantial evidence about a politically motivated fairytale invented by prosecutors.

You people have to get a little smarter and learn what is really going on with this stuff.

-9 ( +0 / -9 )

You people have to get a little smarter and learn what is really going on with this stuff.

Do I detect a trace of arrogance? Why don't you amuse 'us' and educate the 'you people'?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Please keep the discussion civil and do not be ill-mannered toward other readers.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

oh Hiko do pls tell...........

1 ( +1 / -0 )

All witness testimony was rejected by the court, the conviction was made purely on the evidence of the timeline suggested by investigators and the plausibility of their explanation that it probably came from dango payments from contractors.

No evidence was cited in the convictions - this was based purely on circumstance - which is pretty weak, even by Japanese judicial standards. The lack of detail and critical analysis in English language reporting is probably behind why people are swallowing up the propaganda that Ozawa is a criminal that needs to be kicked out of politics, but even a high level look at how this trial was prosecuted and carried out shows that this entire case is baseless and politically motivated to try to keep Ozawa from exerting influence.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Please understand that Kyodo News wires are straight up kisha-club coverage of the news put into English - this story is an excellent opportunity for people to read a little more broadly from Japanese language sources and compare what goes into coverage here, and what is left out - especially if you go beyond kisha-club sourced media.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

“I will continue my political activity and keep fighting in court,” Ishikawa said, adding that he feared the conviction would affect Ozawa politically.

This one sentence demonstrates what is so very wrong with Japanese politics -- that the people these folks are supposed to serve don't matter in the slightest. He has been convicted of a crime, and all he cares about is his own political future, and his crony Ozawa. The entire system is hopelessly broken, but there is no call whatsoever to fix it.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Thanks to crumbling politics and the liars, crooks and thieves we have like Mr. Ozawa. They think if they deny something or change the subject when asked about it, that's the end of it. It will soon just go away, well guess what? It never does and watching them squirm as the truth dawns on them is priceless. Well, one these day maybe what goes around will come back to haunt him. But I doubt it. He will never have to stand trial and spend a single day in prison. After all we often expect many politicians to be totally unethical at some point in their career. Isn't that the norm?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Herefornow - Ishikawa's press conference is being shown on TV - he said a lot more than what AP is quoting, and into the detail of why the conviction is flawed. Primarily the fact that the court accepted the allegations made without any affirming evidence, and rejecting evidence to the contrary. He said he can't accept a conviction based on a made up version of the events, and plans to appeal. Which is fair enough.

The LDP however, and the court take his defiance as you do - a sigh of lack of remorse. This is what is usually used to pressure people charged into Japan into confessions.

This trial and convictions, if you listen to any of the details about how it was carried out, is a farce.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Hikozaemon,

you familiar with Van Wolferen. If not check out his website on how the press in Japan is harmful to democracy.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It's high time poor Ozawa ditched these awful aides who keep giving him a bad name.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Nessie: "It's high time poor Ozawa ditched these awful aides who keep giving him a bad name."

If he did that, everyone would be bad except for him. :)

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Hikozaemon, thanks for the info, it's pathetic to see all the inane comments on this page...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Herefornow - Ishikawa's press conference is being shown on TV - he said a lot more than what AP is quoting, and into the detail of why the conviction is flawed

Hikozaeman -- I don't care what Ishikawa has to say, that is the whole point. He is a no good, gutless politician who got where he is by kissing guy's like Ozawa's butt. And now, because he did what he was told to do, as opposed to following the law and protecting the citizens he is paid by, he is a convicted felon. The fact that you care what he says does not surprise me in the least, but does concern me nonetheless.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Zucronium - I agree completely, mainstream reporting of this case is a perfect example of that.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

he is a convicted felon

lol, as if the Japanese court system is immune to political pressure. They can't take the heat off of Ozawa for a minute, because if he gets control of the Japanese legislature, heads will roll down at the prosecutors' office.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Folks,

In case you dont know one of the PRIME reasons these so called "aides" exists is to shield higher ups from any responsibility, every time a scandal happens these fall guys, I mean aides, fall on the swords, but mostly they get off with suspended sentences, its all agreed in advance by govt, prosecution, judges.

This cycle repeats non-stop, & almost no one does time, they all take care of each other behind the scenes, what we are seeing isnt real, its just a play, that gets re-enacted over & over again while the people get screwed

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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