Nov 29 09:42 AM US/EasternTOKYO, Nov. 29 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa said Thursday that he and Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda agreed on a security policy document when they held talks Nov. 2, but Fukuda denied the existence of such a paper.
Ozawa said on a TV program that the two compiled a document reflecting their agreement concerning security policies, including limiting the Self-Defense Forces' overseas dispatch to participation in activities sanctioned by the United Nations.
The leader of the largest opposition party said he and Fukuda, who doubles as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, made revisions to a document which the prime minister brought to their meeting.
"We both copied each other to make the same document and confirmed (the contents). I have the memo," Ozawa said on a TV Asahi program in the morning.
On Thursday evening, Fukuda denied the existence of an agreed document, telling reporters at his office, "(DPJ) President Ozawa copied off of a memo that I had written, but it was just that one part (that he copied) and it's not that we compiled the whole thing."
But Fukuda refused to disclose the contents of his memo, saying it turns out that nothing came out of the talks with Ozawa then and there is no use in revealing what they discussed.
Ozawa told reporters on the night of Nov. 2 that Fukuda proposed forming a grand coalition with the DPJ, telling him he would not dwell on having a bill passed in the Diet to resume Japan's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean if the DPJ agreed to the idea of forming a governing coalition with the ruling parties.
The DPJ leader said the prime minister also assured him during their talks as respective party heads that the SDF would take part only in overseas activities sanctioned by the United Nations -- in line with Ozawa's repeated assertions.
Ozawa took Fukuda's proposal back to DPJ executives, thinking it was worth beginning interparty policy consultations over as it showed concession on the part of the prime minister, but they rejected the idea. He then conveyed to Fukuda by phone that he could not accept the proposal.
The incident led Ozawa to offer his resignation as party head, but he later retracted it and decided to stay.
Observers say that by talking about the purported document, Ozawa appears to be trying to show the validity of his decision to bring back Fukuda's proposal of forming a grand coalition to the DPJ with a view to starting policy consultations with the LDP.
"It may be aimed to appeal to the DPJ that he (Ozawa) properly checked the thoughts of the prime minister and carefully decided to enter policy consultations," a source close to the DPJ leader said.
Last week, Ozawa defended at a press conference his decision to consider starting policy consultations with the LDP but said he does not intend to bring the matter up again because other DPJ lawmakers opposed the idea.
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