OPPOSITION: Once-powerful political broker Ichiro Ozawa defeated in lower house race

TOKYO - Ichiro Ozawa, a once-powerful Japanese political broker, lost his seat in Sunday's House of Representatives election, marking the effective end of a career in which he long wielded enormous influence over Japanese politics.In Iwate's 3rd district in northeastern Japan, Ozawa, 83, who was running as a candidate for the main opposition Centrist Reform Alliance, lost to Takashi Fujiwara, 42, a candidate from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's ruling Liberal Democratic Party.A senior figure in his party, Ozawa had been seeking a record 20th lower house election victory, tying the postwar m…READ FULL ARTICLE