Veteran Japanese lawmaker Ichiro Ozawa to be indicted over political funding scandal

Japan ruling party figure Ozawa to be indicted

TOKYO — A court official says veteran Japanese lawmaker and powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa will be indicted over a political funding scandal.

The official at the Tokyo District Court said Monday that judicial panel of ordinary citizens decided Ozawa should be indicted. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to talk to the media.

The decision will prompt the Tokyo District Court to appoint lawyers to prosecute Ozawa.

Ozawa challenged Prime Minister Naoto Kan for the ruling party’s top leadership vote in September. While Ozawa has championed deregulation and bureaucratic reforms, he is unpopular in opinion polls and is widely seen as an old-style back-room wheeler-dealer.