The Democratic Party of Japan, the country's strongest opposition party, has for the first time tackled a burgeoning scandal - one that is threatening to spill into the political realm - by launching a blog.

The online journal chronicles the widening "killer condo" scandal, in which earthquake-resistance data was faked on almost 100 buildings throughout the country. It has attracted 50,000 readers a day and 200 registered users in the 10 days since its launch.