Tanaka

Tanaka was a populist Japanese politician. He came from a very humble background in a poor part of the country. He helped shape the political climate of modern Japan, particularly in terms of his corruption and sinister connections with business and organized crime.

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Kakuei Tanaka was the most powerful politician in Japan for nearly two decades, and his followers have dominated Japanese politics for most of the country's recent history. This account of the life and times of Tanaka explores the public profile and private power-broking of a controversial and powerful politician, opening up in the process the intimate political history of modern Japan.