Political observers say one of the reasons Ichiro Ozawa lost the Democratic Party of Japan's presidential election Sept. 14 was the negative image of his alleged involvement in false financial reporting by his political fund-management body, Rikuzankai.
Prosecutors dropped the case due to lack of evidence, but the Tokyo No. 5 Inquest Committee is currently reviewing the matter for the second time and is expected to reach a conclusion by the end of October. Should the panel's members find that the case merits indictment, Ozawa will automatically be brought to court.
Committees for the Inquest of Prosecution are independent judicial bodies that review whether cases dropped by prosecutors should in fact have resulted in an indictment.