Japan opposition leader sorry for sloppy donations records

Japan's opposition leader Yukio Hatoyama on Tuesday apologised for the sloppy accounting records of his fund-raising body, the latest blow to his party in an election year.

Media had questioned the accounting records of the group which manages political donations to Hatoyama, saying the donors' list included names of dead people and those who had denied giving money.

"I apologise with all my heart that my fund-raising group caused concern and disturbed the public," Hatoyama told a hurriedly organised press conference.

"I have found that what has been pointed out by the media was basically correct. I also found other erroneous items."

He said a total of 21 million yen (220,000 dollars) had been recorded incorrectly since 2005.

Hatoyama said he immediately sacked an accountant responsible for the problem but would not resign his leadership of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).

Hatoyama became the latest political heavyweight to draw criticism over donations irregularities in the past few months.

His predecessor Ichiro Ozawa resigned in May after being accused of accepting illegal donations in return for public works contracts.

The DPJ hopes to topple Prime Minister Taro Aso's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has ruled Japan almost without break for more than half a century.

Last week Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano was also accused of taking illegal donations, which he denied.