Ozawa Divorced for Being a Wimp

[Hammer]

If this is true it's a real hoot, in a pathetic sort of way.

Wife writes of divorcing radiation-scared Ozawa

The wife of Democratic Party of Japan kingpin Ichiro Ozawa has divorced him, saying he fled Tokyo soon after the Fukushima nuclear crisis started last March out of fear of radiation, according to the weekly Shukan Bunshun, citing a letter it says she wrote to his supporters in November.

Apparently Ozawa's office is denying the story. We shall see ...

[Russell]

If this is true it's a real hoot, in a pathetic sort of way.

Wife writes of divorcing radiation-scared Ozawa

The wife of Democratic Party of Japan kingpin Ichiro Ozawa has divorced him, saying he fled Tokyo soon after the Fukushima nuclear crisis started last March out of fear of radiation, according to the weekly Shukan Bunshun, citing a letter it says she wrote to his supporters in November.

Apparently Ozawa's office is denying the story. We shall see ...

Most politicians are wimps, so I am not surprised by this.

What will he get for his behavior? A medal from the emperor?

[Gaspard de Coligny]

So... basically, the guy used common sense to get away from a potential danger and now one year later, despite the lack of apocalyps for Tokyo, with facts and reports confirming that it was not exactly a bad call his wife divorce ?

She's aiming for the title of biggest dumbass for 2012 ?

[Hugh Jørgen]

So... basically, the guy used common sense to get away from a potential danger and now one year later, despite the lack of apocalyps for Tokyo, with facts and reports confirming that it was not exactly a bad call his wife divorce ?

She's aiming for the title of biggest dumbass for 2012 ?

But, as a politician, is he not a captain of sorts? Should they not ensure the safety of their constituents before taking care of their own? Or, has the definition of civil servant changed since I were a lad...? Yeah, I know, he's just emulating his Italian buddy at the helm of the Costa Concordia.

[Gaspard de Coligny]

Is he a civil servant of sorts ? Does he have official authority/responsability ?

If he's just the head of the DPJ he have no more duty to stay in a sinking ship than the teamleader of the fencing club of Shinjuku high...

[Russell]

Is he a civil servant of sorts ? Does he have official authority/responsability ?

If he's just the head of the DPJ he have no more duty to stay in a sinking ship than the teamleader of the fencing club of Shinjuku high...

But Ozawa does have some pretensions, methinks...

[Gaspard de Coligny]

Is he a civil servant of sorts ? Does he have official authority/responsability ?

If he's just the head of the DPJ he have no more duty to stay in a sinking ship than the teamleader of the fencing club of Shinjuku high...

But Ozawa does have some pretensions, methinks...

So he just proved that he has better understanding of nukular tech than the current prime minister...

[Hammer]

Ozawa is from Iwate, by the way, where he has his biggest supporter base. He's a Tohoku boy.

If he did bugger off it might very well be political suicide ... but the guy is already a bit of a zombie so it might not make any difference.

[cstaylor]

Ozawa is from Iwate, by the way, where he has his biggest supporter base. He's a Tohoku boy.
If he did bugger off it might very well be political suicide ... but the guy is already a bit of a zombie so it might not make any difference.

It all sounds highly dubious. More like Noda and his pals in the LDP want to stop Ozawa from steering the DPJ back on the right course. Since the trumped-up case on campaign contributions fell through, they need another stick to beat him with.

Sadly, the Japan Times is running it on their front page. Glad to see tabloid journalism is still alive and well.

“Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it” -- Adolf Hitler

[Hammer]

It all sounds highly dubious. More like Noda and his pals in the LDP want to stop Ozawa from steering the DPJ back on the right course. Since the trumped-up case on campaign contributions fell through, they need another stick to beat him with.

Sadly, the Japan Times is running it on their front page. Glad to see tabloid journalism is still alive and well.

“Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it” -- Adolf Hitler

The problem with this one is that it's his ex-wife ... and recently ex-wife ... making the claim. If it was a total fabrication there's no doubt that she would come out and deny it. So unless the LDP has bought her out somehow, I can't see it being total BS.

[cstaylor]

It all sounds highly dubious. More like Noda and his pals in the LDP want to stop Ozawa from steering the DPJ back on the right course. Since the trumped-up case on campaign contributions fell through, they need another stick to beat him with.

Sadly, the Japan Times is running it on their front page. Glad to see tabloid journalism is still alive and well.

“Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it” -- Adolf Hitler

The problem with this one is that it's his ex-wife ... and recently ex-wife ... making the claim. If it was a total fabrication there's no doubt that she would come out and deny it. So unless the LDP has bought her out somehow, I can't see it being total BS.

Really? Where's her claim? All I see is a tabloid rag flogging copies of a letter purported to be written by her.

How's this: "Yokohammer, when will you stop beating your wife? You don't beat her? That's not what she sent to her friend via email... see, here's the email!"

[Hammer]

Really? Where's her claim? All I see is a tabloid rag flogging copies of a letter purported to be written by her.

So where's her denial?
If she didn't write the letter, don't you think she might stand up and say "I didn't write that"?

We might be hearing from her soon, but so far nothing that I know of.

How's this: "Yokohammer, when will you stop beating your wife? You don't beat her? That's not what she sent to her friend via email... see, here's the email!"

And to take my point a step further, if you published something like this in the media you'd be in serious legal shit. Seems like the same would apply in Ozawa's case, no?

[cstaylor]

If she didn't write the letter, don't you think she might stand up and say "I didn't write that"?

We might be hearing from her soon, but so far nothing that I know of.

“A slander is like a hornet; if you cannot kill it dead the first blow, better not strike at it” -- Josh Billings

[Hammer]

If she didn't write the letter, don't you think she might stand up and say "I didn't write that"?

We might be hearing from her soon, but so far nothing that I know of.

“A slander is like a hornet; if you cannot kill it dead the first blow, better not strike at it” -- Josh Billings

Nice saying, but I don't see how it applies in this case.
If it's a lie, it's a lie. If Ozawa's ex comes out and says she never wrote the letter then that's the end of it. Case closed. And whoever is responsible for publishing the article is in deep shit.

[cstaylor]

If she didn't write the letter, don't you think she might stand up and say "I didn't write that"?

We might be hearing from her soon, but so far nothing that I know of.

“A slander is like a hornet; if you cannot kill it dead the first blow, better not strike at it” -- Josh Billings

Nice saying, but I don't see how it applies in this case.
If it's a lie, it's a lie. If Ozawa's ex comes out and says she never wrote the letter then that's the end of it. Case closed. And whoever is responsible for publishing the article is in deep shit.

"Oh, she's just saying that to cover for her husband (ex? I haven't heard anything about a divorce)"
Go back and read my Hitler quotation, then think if we got into a discussion about you beating your wife. You may win in the short-term, but over time people would only remember that Yokohammer beats his wife, not that I was a liar. When people slander you, the best defense is to quietly build a libel case, and then take them to court.

Unfortunately, as a politician, for Ozawa all that matter in Noda's upcoming snap election is what the voters think of him right now. Unless the mainstream Japanese media runs with it, better to let it die quietly.

I have no insider information about Ozawa's personal life, only that this revelation sounds highly dubious.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

She's filing for divorce. If anyone who's ever made it to court for a contentious divorce in Japan would know, both parties can and do basically say whatever the fuck they like about the other and if they can't substantiate it with proof, then it's dismissed. It doesn't matter if her claims are true or not. The media (and popular opinion) doesn't give a fuck about waiting for the proof. What it cares about is the factual story of what one party is claiming against the other. Whether those claims are not substantiated or found to be groundless is utterly meaningless. The media may, and probably even will, give them minimal coverage if that proves to be the case, but its interests will be served with the initial claims, and possibly the initial reaction, which is unlikely in this case given that it's Ozawa, who probably won't speak publicly on the divorce given that it's a private matter.
The aim of the soon-to-be-ex Mrs. Ozawa is nothing more than to exact revenge on her philandering spouse by causing the greatest possible public damage to him.
Ozawa won't give a fuck...he's had most of the cuntry and populace hating his guts for the past three decades. Water off a duck's back.

[Hammer]

Yes, and there's the philandering issue too.

No matter how you cut it, I can't believe that the story is total BS. There may be some exaggeration involved, but in a situation like this people are going to be pretty careful that they don't lie outright in a way that'll come back and bite them in the buttocks later.

Either way, I still think the story is a hoot. Quite a circus, entirely befitting the participating clowns.

[Gaspard de Coligny]

Yes, and there's the philandering issue too.

No matter how you cut it, I can't believe that the story is total BS. There may be some exaggeration involved, but in a situation like this people are going to be pretty careful that they don't lie outright in a way that'll come back and bite them in the buttocks later.

Either way, I still think the story is a hoot. Quite a circus, entirely befitting the participating clowns.

Dood, they are not playing chess... they are wrestling in the mud...

1- the wifey want a divorce... So she'll fling any turd against her husband.
2- the guy is wanted politically dead by way too much people
3- enemies of my enemy are my allies...

As said, in politics, slander don't work the same, what's important is public attention span. Scandal explode... and the time you 'carefully build a libel case' 1- the damage is done 2- nobody cares anymore if it was true or false...

If she didn't write the letter, don't you think she might stand up and say "I didn't write that"?

Au contraire... it's even better... Stated as "letter to his supporter" it sound all legit and shit. That don't even mean she sent the letter... That mean she can stay between sheep and wolves. If shit goes real she can claim the letter was written because she was upset and wanted to hurt him but was never sent, her secretary stole it, so there is no ground for libel-slander-whatever. BUT more importantly, since she effectively wrote, maybe, something, she can avoid denying anything to allow the lie to get substantiated enough to be 'tabloid proof'.

[Hammer]

Oh fer ...

What matters is whether she wrote the letter or not. If she did we can assume that at least the basics are true, allowing for a certain degree of exaggeration. Whether her secretary stole it or the dog ate it doesn't mean squat.

[Gaspard de Coligny]

Oh fer ...

What matters is whether she wrote the letter or not.

No, what matters is the rumor... the letter is just an accessory, that can disappear in a snap and be replaced by "in fact it was not a letter, it was a phone call, there is no trace"