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Tomohiro Ishikawa, a former secretary of DPJ Secretary-General Ichiro Ozawa, was taken into custody Friday as part of an investigation into political fundraising activities surrounding Ozawa, the Mainichi Daily News reported.

The newspaper says the arrest has cast doubt on Ozawa's political future just as the party holds it first convention since assuming power in last year's general election. DPJ leaders are already laying "post-Ozawa" scenarios after winning the election on a call to eliminate distrust in politics, the newspaper said.

"There are a lot of people calling for matters to be settled", an unnamed DJP member told the Daily News. "A fiery response will probably be seen from local assembly members at the party convention on Saturday."

Ishikawa and two other Ozawa aides were charged with falsely reporting $4.4 million provided by the secretary-general to buy land. The newspaper said Ishikawa, 36, and Mitsutomo Ikeda, 32, both former private secretaries to Ozawa, and Takanori Okubo, 48, a state-paid secretary, were jailed for allegedly violating the Law to Regulate Money Used for Political Activities.

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