A secretary to ruling party heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of falsifying donation records from major contractor Nishimatsu Construction Co.
Takanori Okubo, 48, a state-funded secretary to Ozawa, who is currently secretary general of the Democratic Party of Japan, entered the plea at the opening of his Tokyo District Court trial.
"I did not think (my deeds) could violate the law," Okubo said.