ABSTRACT
The rule of the Liberal Democratic Party (L.D.P.) ended in 1993. After a money scandal involving former L.D.P. vice-governor (deputy party leader) Shin Kanemaru, one L.D.P. faction, led by former L.D.P. secretary general Ichiro Ozawa, left the party and created a new one called “Shinsei-to” (the Japan Renewal Party, or J.R.P.). In the Lower House election following this, the L.D.P. could not get a majority without the Ozawa faction. The Ozawa faction formed a coalition government with all the anti-L.D.P. parties except the Japan Communist Party (J.C.P.). The Ozawa faction had been “owned” at first by former prime minister Kakuei Tanaka and later by former prime-minister Noboru Takeshita. Both of them resigned because of bribery scandals. Actually, Shin Kanemaru also belonged to this faction. At one time it was the biggest faction in the L.D.P. and was considered to be able to obtain and use the most money. If one thinks of anti-L.D.P. parties as uncorrupt and unconcerned about having seats in the cabinet, it might seem strange that the critics of the L.D.P.’s “money politics” or corruption formed a coalition government with this faction.
