The proceedings of the trial of former Democratic Party of Japan leader Mr. Ichiro Ozawa, which began in October, ended March 19 as he entered his final plea of innocence and his defense counsel made its closing arguments. On March 9, court-appointed lawyers acting as prosecutors had demanded three years' imprisonment for Mr. Ozawa for allegedly violating the Political Funds Control Law. It is hoped that the Tokyo District Court will give a convincing ruling based on solid evidence, not on suspicions. The ruling is expected on April 26.

Mr. Ozawa is charged with conspiring with three of his former secretaries to falsify reports submitted by his political fund management body, Rikuzankai, in 2004 and 2005 over a ¥400 million land deal in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo. Mr. Ozawa took out ¥400 million in bank loans by using ¥400 million of his own funds as collateral.

The prosecution argued that the bank loans were intended to hide the sources of Mr. Ozawa's ¥400 million in personal funds. But there is little concrete evidence to prove Mr. Ozawa's guilt. The court-appointed lawyers cannot even show when the conspiracy took place. To prove his involvement in a conspiracy, they resorted to a 2003 Supreme Court ruling that recognized that a gang boss was criminally guilty of conspiring with his bodyguard to arm the latter with a handgun even though there was no evidence to determine a time, date and place of the conspiracy.