Shadow shoguns

Japan's formidable political machine - Tokyo's version of Tammany Hall - was founded in the 1970s by Kakuei Tanaka, a rough-hewn, fiery populist whose storybook rise from impoverished "snow country" roots to prime minister made him a beloved leader. After a string of financial scandals, including his arrest for taking bribes, led to his banishment from high office, Tanaka managed to acquire even greater power as Japan's acknowledged "shadow shogun" by building a broad-based political organization that squelched open democratic competition and co-opted rival politicians. Run by a dynasty of…