Kakuei Tanaka

Kakuei Tanaka was a Japanese politician who served as the 40th Prime Minister of Japan from 1972 to 1974. He was also the leader of the largest faction of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) for more than a decade, and was involved in several political scandals, most notably the Lockheed bribery scandals. Tanaka was born in a poor rural family in Niigata Prefecture, and dropped out of school at the age of 15. He moved to Tokyo and started his own construction company, which prospered during World War II. He entered politics in 1947, when he was elected to the House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party. He later joined the LDP and held various ministerial positions, including finance, international trade and industry, and posts and telecommunications. He became the secretary-general of the LDP in 1965 and 1968, and challenged the incumbent Prime Minister Eisaku Sato for the party presidency in 1971. He won the election and became the prime minister in 1972. Tanaka was a charismatic and popular leader, who initiated many public works projects and promoted economic development in western Japan. He also established diplomatic relations with China in 1972, and visited several Southeast Asian countries to improve Japan's image in the region. However, his administration faced economic difficulties, such as inflation and trade deficits, and public discontent over pollution and corruption. He resigned in 1974, amid allegations that he had used his office for personal gain. In 1976, he was arrested and indicted for accepting bribes from the Lockheed Corporation, a US aerospace company, to influence the purchase of its aircraft by a Japanese airline. He was convicted by two lower courts, but his case was still pending before the Supreme Court at the time of his death. He suffered a stroke in 1985, which left him paralyzed and unable to speak. He died of pneumonia in 1993, at the age of 75. Despite his scandals, Tanaka remained a powerful figure in Japanese politics, and his faction continued to influence the selection of prime ministers and policies. He was known as the "Shadow Shogun" and the "Modern Taiko" for his political acumen and ambition. His daughter, Makiko Tanaka, and his son-in-law, Naoki Tanaka, also became prominent politicians in Japan.