Abstract
The year 1988 saw the beginning of a rash of political scandals that served to unhinge Japan’s political system because of the involvement of numerous high-ranking members in the LDP and elite civil servants. The Recruit scandal hit the front pages of the major dailies. The massive insider trading and corruption scandal that brought down Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita’s entire administration, the resignation from office by many key politicians, and the arrest and indictment of powerful businessmen are pertinent examples of collusion between cross-party ultra-conservative politicians, bureaucrats and big business and of money politics during Japan’s post-war period. The Recruit scandal, involving 155 prominent figures, was regarded as the most pervasive of all time and much bigger than the Lockheed scandal. It was also credited with spurring the defection of members of the LDP to form the New Japan Party in 1992 and Morihiro Hosokawa’s installation as prime minister in August 1993.
Keywords
Prime Minister Construction Company Ministry Official Socialist Party Iwate PrefecturePreview
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Notes
- 1.T. Ishikawa, Akuto: Ozawa Ichiro ni Tsukaete (The Scoundrel: Serving Ichiro Ozawa) (Tokyo: Asahi Newspaper Publishing Company, 2011).Google Scholar
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