TOKYO, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Prosecutors on Friday arrested Tomohiro Ishikawa, a lawmaker of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) over a political funds scandal involving the ruling party's Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa.

    The move came two days after prosecutors searched the offices of Ozawa and his fund management body over accounting irregularities related to donations from Nishimatsu Construction Corp. and general contractor Kajima Corp.

    On Wednesday, prosecutors searched the offices of Ishikawa, who was a secretary at Ozawa's fund management group Rikuzankai at the time when the financial irregularities occurred.

    Ishikawa, who is a member of the upper house, is suspected of helping to cover up the use of 400 million yen (4.4 million U.S. dollars) by Rikuzankai to purchase 476-square-meters of land in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, in 2004.