A citizens' group asked an independent judicial panel Friday to look into last week's decision by prosecutors not to charge Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa over alleged false reporting of political funds at his fund management body.
The prosecutors could be required to reopen their probe if the panel decides Ozawa should be charged or if the prosecutors' decision not to do so was unjust. If the panel decides within three months that Ozawa should be charged, a court-designated lawyer will automatically indict Ozawa.
The citizens' group, Shinjitsu wo Motomeru Kai (Committee to Seek the Truth), filed a complaint with the prosecutors against Ozawa in January alleging a violation of the Political Funds Control Law.
The nature of the group, however, remains a mystery. Various pieces of information circulate on the Internet, with some saying it groups legal experts and former journalists, but its members are never known. The group is even rumored to be a dummy body working on behalf of anti-Ozawa political forces.
Tokyo prosecutors questioned Ozawa twice, on Jan. 23 and 31. On Feb. 4, they opted not to charge him, citing lack of evidence.
But they indicted DPJ Lower House lawmaker Tomohiro Ishikawa, an ex-aide of Ozawa, for misreporting funds at Rikuzankai, Ozawa's fund management body. Another ex-aide and a current secretary were also charged.