ABSTRACT
The Japanese people have been more than indulgent in allowing political corruption, and have coined a saying describing the phenomenon: tokage no shippo kiri. The tendency of politicians, irrespective of party, to become involved in financial scandals seems to be one of the more enduring characteristics of post-war Japanese politics. The Lockheed affair was followed in the 1980s by the Recruit scandal in which politicians received bribes in the form of company stock. Scandals have erupted and generated public controversy only when the character or magnitude of the activity appeared to exceed certain limits. There are several reasons for this institutionalization of corruption. The frequency of money scandals in Japan is due in large part to the way in which political parties, especially the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), are organized and operate. A product of the Sagawa Kyubin and other scandals was growing pressure from the public and from within the LDP itself in favor of reform.
