Ichirō Ozawa
In 2009, the DPJ president Ichirō Ozawa was forced to resign as party leader after becoming embroiled in a fundraising scandal, related to the alleged false reporting of land purchases and loans to his "koenkai" made between 2004 and 2005. Whilst Ozawa denied any involvement from him or his funding group, two of his aides were formally convicted and jailed for their involvement in the scandal. In 2011, Ozawa went on trial in Tokyo and was charged with breaking political fundraising laws. However, in April 2012, Ozawa was formally acquitted.