WASHINGTON (Kyodo) Ichiro Ozawa, the No. 2 man in the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, ranked third on a list of 10 up-and-coming leaders around the world, according to an annual report released Tuesday.
Ozawa, secretary general of the DPJ, which came into power last September after a historic election victory, followed Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and U.S. President Barack Obama in the "Leaders to Watch" report by U.S. research firm Eurasia Group.
"Ozawa holds no Cabinet position, but he is the most powerful politician in the DPJ, controlling its finances, electoral strategy, and the candidate-selection process as its secretary general," the report says, adding that he leaves policymaking to others but doesn't hesitate to forcefully intervene to serve his agenda.