Politics in Japan has traditionally been a sport for the upper classes, those proper conservatives who went to the elite schools and enjoyed the right connections. Premier Kakuei Tanaka, 56, son of an indigent horse trader and a self-made millionaire, was a striking ex ception. Boasting nicknames like "the Computerized Bulldozer," he swept into the premiership 28 months ago with promises of "decision and action" and an expansion of trade with China. Last week he proved to be a victim of his own hard-driving success.
The coup de grace was a 61...
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