His daily routine approaches a ritual. Early in the morning, he strolls through his sprawling Tokyo compound, with its exquisitely pebbled garden and tiny pools a pa to a spacious reception hall. There he spends the day greeting a parade of visitors. Politicians, businessmen, constituents: they all come to pay homage to Kakuei Tanaka. For a man forced out as Prime Minister in 1974 for financial juggling, and still awaiting a verdict on charges of pocketing a $2 million bribe, the pageant of respect is remarkable. He remains the country's mightiest politician—the "Shogun...
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