TOKYO (AFP) — Japan's main opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa agreed Tuesday to stay on following a row within his party over whether to accept a power-sharing offer from the prime minister.
Ozawa, who led the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) to a major upper house election victory in July, unexpectedly announced Sunday he intended to resign after his party rejected the offer to form a grand coalition.
But senior party officials managed to persuade him to stay on and continue the party's efforts to seize control of the more powerful lower house.
"Mr. Ozawa said he wants to work again as party leader after seeing the requests from members who want him to stay on," said DPJ secretary general Yukio Hatoyama.
Ozawa will hold a press conference on Wednesday afternoon after attending a general meeting with his party members, officials said.
"I feel like I caused a real embarrassment," Ozawa was quoted as telling Hatoyama.
The DPJ was created in 1998 with the merger of four parties and Ozawa is seen as a unifying force of the group with its disparate ideologies.
Party vice president Katsuya Okada said earlier that Ozawa had a "responsibility to rebuild the party."
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party had also urged the DPJ to resolve its differences and start to work with the government on new legislation.
"We could have watched the opposition party before and thought their problems would be irrelevant to us," said LDP secretary general Bunmei Ibuki.
"But now we see them as a party of comrades who share the same responsibility for Japanese politics."
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda proposed a coalition in a one-on-one meeting with Ozawa on Friday in a bid to break the legislative stalemate over Japan's refuelling support mission for US-led operations in Afghanistan.
The mission, Japan's main role in the US-led "war on terror," was halted last week after legislation authorising it expired.
The DPJ has been seeking to block key legislation including an extension of the Indian Ocean refuelling mission.
But the opposition outlined a proposal Tuesday under which it would support anti-terrorism operations, including the mission providing refuelling support for US-led troops in Afghanistan, if they are authorised by UN resolutions.
Ozawa had described the decision by DPJ executives to reject the offer as a "vote of no confidence" in his leadership.
There had been speculation that the 65-year-old -- who has switched allegiances repeatedly over the past decade -- might leave to start a new party or even defect to the ruling camp.
His decision to quit, which came as the opposition enjoys a resurgence after years on the political sidelines, surprised Japan and added to the political confusion in the country, which is already in the midst of legislative deadlock.
Ozawa was given the nickname "The Destroyer" by Japanese media for his record of splitting up parties through his shrewd dealings.
Once a rising star in the ruling camp, he bolted in 1993, leading to a brief break in the LDP's single-handed 38-year reign.
After forming and disbanding a series of small parties, he finally found a home in 2003 with the DPJ, which was formed in 1998 in a marriage between former socialists and conservatives disgruntled with the LDP.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
