Japanese panel for charging Ozawa in scam

TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his party suffered a harsh blow ahead of a mid-year election when a judicial panel said on Tuesday that ruling party kingpin Ichiro Ozawa should be charged over a funding scandal.

Hatoyama's ratings have already nose-dived, eroded by the premier's perceived mishandling of a feud over a US Marine base as well as funding scandals, dimming the chances of a decisive Democratic Party victory in an upper house poll expected in July.

The Democrats, who took power just seven months ago, need to win an outright majority in the upper chamber to avoid policy stalemate as the country strives to keep a fragile economic recovery on track and rein in a massive public debt.