Now that Ichiro Ozawa has been acquitted of funding irregularity charges, experts said one thing is certain at this stage: he will try to regain power within his Democratic Party of Japan and send Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda packing.
In the past few years, Ozawa has been shunted aside by Noda, who also serves as ruling DPJ's president, and the party's executives. When allegations surfaced over a political funds misdeeds that appeared to implicate Ozawa and some key former aides, they seized on the chance to suspend the party membership of the "shadow shogun."
Thursday's court ruling, however, will allow Ozawa to regroup and consolidate the estimated 100 loyal followers in the intraparty faction he heads to force Noda into a corner ahead of the DPJ's presidential election in September.