The indictment of Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa's chief secretary is prompting observers to question the timing of the arrest and details of the charges because of the impact the probe poses to national politics.
Two things are setting off alarm bells. First, prosecutors usually avoid arresting people linked to politicians shortly before an election. Second, political fund law violations usually involve secret funds.
But this is the first time prosecutors have targeted officially documented donations at a time when a general election with a rare but realistic chance of changing the status quo is due within months. The DPJ has been seen as having a good chance of unseating the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party in the next poll.