Tanaka Kakuei was the Prime Minister of Japan from 1972 to 1974. He was the most influential member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party for nearly a decade. However, his series of scandals led him to be nicknamed the “Shadow Shogun.”
On this day, October 12th, in 1983, Tanaka Kakuei was found guilty of taking almost $2 billion in bribes from Lockheed Corporation.
After being found guilty, Tanaka was sentenced to four years in jail, but he filed an appeal and threatened to not leave the Diet while he still had supporters. Tanaka still held great power until 1985 when he suffered from a stroke and his health deteriorated.