The Democratic Party of Japan is finding it difficult to persuade DPJ bigwig Ichiro Ozawa to testify under oath before the Diet in the immediate future over a scandal involving his political funds management body, a senior party lawmaker said Thursday.
Opposition parties say the planned Diet deliberations on the fiscal 2010 extra budget, which is necessary to finance fresh economic stimulus, could be delayed if the DPJ fails to get Ozawa to testify.
DPJ Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Yoshio Hachiro told his counterpart in the Liberal Democratic Party, Ichiro Aisawa, it would be difficult for Ozawa to appear before the start of deliberations on the supplementary budget, slated for early next month.