Ichiro Ozawa on Monday retracted his earlier consent to become president of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, saying he failed to pay into the National Pension Program for six years in the 1980s.
His announcement sent shock waves among DPJ leaders, who on Friday managed to win his consent to take over from departing party chief Naoto Kan.
Kan announced his resignation earlier last week over his own past failure to pay mandatory pension premiums.