Et Cetera

Shin Kanemaru, 78, was the Mr. Big of Japanese politics, the man whose backstage maneuvering made several Prime Ministers, including the current one, Kiichi Miyazawa. Kanemaru thought he could slide through scandal with a public apology at a press conference and a small fine for accepting a $4 million illegal campaign contribution. But the Japanese public, stirred by the arrogance of the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party power brokers, was furious that Kanemaru got off so lightly. Protests within his party, in business circles and in the press finally forced Kanemaru to resign his seat in the Diet and as chief of his faction, throwing the ruling party into disarray. Said he: "It was Shin Kanemaru who was wrong. There are no other bad guys."