TMCnet News
Opposition DPJ to apologize over e-mail fuss early next week+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)TOKYO, Feb. 26_(Kyodo) _ Hisayasu Nagata, a lawmaker of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, and party executives will offer their apologies within a few days for stalling Diet affairs with allegations about a shady money transfer involving a senior ruling party lawmaker, a DPJ executive told reporters Sunday. DPJ Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama said, "In a period of a few days, he himself should first see to it that (explanations) be given. Along with it, party executive members also need to offer their apologies for creating confusion in the Diet." Hatoyama suggested a news conference would be held before the party makes public the results of its investigation about an e-mail message that Nagata unveiled in a Diet panel Feb. 16. Nagata claimed the e-mail shows that Takafumi Horie, the arrested founder of Livedoor Co., at the center of an alleged accounting fraud, instructed money transfer to a son of Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe. Nagata has been admitted to a Tokyo hospital because of fatigue, according to a DPJ official. On the party's investigations on the credibility of the e-mail, which Nagata and the DPJ have so far failed to account for, Hatoyama said, "There is a need to continue investigating the truth. Based on that, it is important to fulfill responsibility." DPJ chief Seiji Maehara and other party executives have admitted they have not fully demonstrated to the public that the e-mail carried credible information. The LDP has said the DPJ's allegations are groundless. |