was a turbulent time in internal LDP politics, and
from 1978 to 1982 further tame successors were
found.
In November 1982 the LDP factions of
Tanaka and Suzuki chose Yasuhiro Nakasone for
the presidency and premiership. He turned out to
be much more decisive and more of his own man
than Tanaka or Suzuki liked. His success in
winning the general election of 1986 enabled him
to stay a further year in office, although LDP rules
would normally have required him to hand over
the presidency that year.
Nakasone wanted to break away from Japan’s
outdated traditions, to remove the heavy hand of
centralised control with its myriad regulations,
and so prepare the way for a new phase of eco-
nomic growth. He asserted Japan’s claim to
respect from the world’s powers, a claim that
entailed losing its pygmy international status and
its dependency on the US. In 1986 he hosted the
annual summit of leading industrial nations in
Tokyo and that same year visited Beijing. War
guilt was now part of history. He would lead
Japan, backed by popular approval, in the
American presidential style.
Nakasone’s self-confidence and his promise of
a more active Japanese foreign policy were wel-
comed by Western leaders. Visiting Washington
in 1983, Nakasone promised President Reagan
Japan’s active assistance in the containment of the
Soviet Union. He toured south-east Asia and
indicated that he was ready to expand Japan’s mil-
itary capacity. But his attempt to revise the con-
stitution for this purpose so alarmed the Japanese
that he promised not to go ahead during his first
term of office. Nakasone engaged in high diplo-
macy with a relish, but government efforts to
open the domestic market to foreign goods, as
the rest of the world was demanding, were con-
stantly frustrated by bureaucracy and business.
Every year Japan amassed huge balance-of-
payments surpluses, while the US had to cope
with the largest debt in the world. The deficit was
in part managed by Japan recycling its surplus
into the purchase of US treasury bonds. But the
Japanese also bought many physical assets abroad
- real estate in California, the Rockefeller Center
in New York, factories in America and Europe.
Japan’s financial and manufacturing power glob-
ally seemed to be on an ever continuing upward
trajectory. When Nakasone finally left office in
November 1987, his reputation internationally
and at home was at its peak. He had achieved a
great deal during his five years in office, aligning
Japan more closely with the West and freeing it
from its shackles of tradition. But Japanese
politics were about to take a surprising turn.
Nakasone’s successor, after much factional
struggle, was Noboru Takeshita, who enjoyed
Nakasone’s support. Takeshita continued Naka-
sone’s foreign travels, exhibiting thereby a more
independent Japanese foreign policy, though the
American alliance remained the bedrock, despite
growing trade tensions. Progress towards closer
relations with China, however, was temporarily
upset by the Chinese leadership’s brutality in the
massacre of Tiananmen Square. Takeshita’s
efforts at home were concentrated on reducing
direct taxation and increasing indirect taxation
through a sales tax, which was especially unpop-
ular with the poorer Japanese families. But the
most sensational event of the Takeshita premier-
ship was the uncovering of yet more corruption
in what became known as the ‘Recruit scandal’.
The Recruit group operated in publishing, real
estate and other areas, and it needed favourable
decisions from the government and bureaucrats if
it was to expand and start making large profits.
To gain favours, the group not only lavished legal
donations on the political parties but also made
illegal payments to politicians and officials. As
usual, money had been needed in the leadership
race between the factions in 1986, and huge
profits were made by Nakasone’s ministers in
illicit share-dealings. The scandal broke in 1988
and its investigation continued into the following
year. Even Prime Minister Takeshita had received
political donations and was forced to resign.
Many suspected Nakasone too, but he was not
formally charged. Nonetheless, the standing of
LDP politicians reached a low point in public
esteem, and for the first time it looked as if the
party might lose power. Sousuke Uno, the new
president and prime minister, did not last long
when a sex scandal arose to titillate the public.
Next, Toshiki Kaifu became prime minister and