Ozawa's loss is PM Aso's gain

Two out of 3 Japanese voters want opposition Democratic Party chief Ichiro Ozawa to resign over a funding scandal that is clouding his party's prospects in a looming election, a Kyodo news survey showed yesterday.

The survey, the first since Ozawa said on Tuesday he planned to stay in his post, also showed that support for unpopular Prime Minister Taro Aso had risen almost eight points to 23.7 percent, but almost two-thirds of voters were still dissatisfied with him.

Ozawa said on Tuesday, after a close aide was charged with accepting illegal corporate donations, that he would stay in his post but left the door open to resigning if support for his party slid and endangered its chances in the election, due by October.