Tension ratcheted up a few notches at Democratic Party of Japan headquarters this week when prosecutors raided DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa's office in connection with a shady Tokyo land purchase by the kingpin's fund management body.
Wasting no time in capitalizing on the scandal, the Liberal Democratic Party trotted out a former secretary in Ozawa's camp to air comments the party leader allegedly made to cover up his misdeeds.
Ozawa gave orders to "hide files, to get rid of anything that could cause trouble," Kei Kanazawa, who worked under Ozawa's former secretary, Tomohiro Ishikawa, told reporters after speaking to LDP lawmakers Thursday.