Ozawa, Aso See Support Shrivel

After the indictment of Ichiro Ozawa's top aide in a bribery scandal Tuesday, support for Ozawa has sunk so low that he would gladly swap approval ratings with former US President George W. Bush. Yet despite his fall from grace, he still edges out Prime Minister Taro Aso. A poll by the Yomiuri Shimbun that came out before Ozawa's aide was indicted had 3.5% of respondents replying that Aso was a suitable candidate for prime minister while 6% said that of Ozawa.

The Washington Post and Bloomberg checked in with Morita-san this week to get his take on Ozawa's fall. To paraphrase, Morita says that while the Japanese people feel despair and hopelessness at their political choices, the Democrats are not likely to stick with Ozawa for long.

For the next couple of weeks, leaders within the Democratic Party of Japan will be jostling for position and a chance to become the next prime minister.