For a powerbroker like Ozawa to say that in 1993 was indeed novel. In 2000, it' s the conventional wisdom. The tragedy of Ozawa is that though he had the vision thing in spades, he lacks the temperament to really lead. You can't do it by fiat. That's doubly true in a parliamentary system like Japan's.
Truth is, it's crucial to getting anything done.
Ozawa, unlike the late Obuchi, never had any tolerance for that sort of thing. Of course, that always made Ozawa a great interview. He often shot from the hip, making journalists happy with lovely quotes about Japan's wayward ways. But maybe he should have spent more time winning the minds of potential reformers in the political world. The other problem with Ozawa was that in the public's mind, he could never quite break with the money politics he claimed to want to destroy.