Former Democratic Party of Japan chief Ichiro Ozawa was indicted Monday over accounting irregularities linked to his political funds management body Rikuzankai.

The indictment will affect not only his political survival but also the fate of Prime Minister Naoto Kan's administration. It could also bring confusion to Japan's politics in general when Japan faces difficult domestic and diplomatic issues.

Mr. Ozawa was indicted by three court-appointed lawyers following two votes by the Tokyo No. 5 Prosecution Inquest Committee, a citizens' legal panel. A May 2009 revision of the relevant law empowers such a panel, consisting of 11 citizens, to overturn a public prosecutors' decision not to indict a person if it votes for indictment twice in a row, each vote taking place after prosecutors decide not to indict the person. Japan has 165 citizens' legal panels.