Away with the rogues

ALONG with its statesmen, Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has had its fair share of rogues. There was Shin Kanemaru, the “don of dons”, who was discovered in 1992 with $50m in cash, bonds and gold bars stashed in his office. The late Noboru Takeshita, who was forced from office a decade ago following the Recruit “shares-for-favours” scandal, once declared that he deserved to die “a thousand times” for his sins. So it has been with a certain weariness that voters have greeted the news that the LDP is again vowing to clean up Japanese politics. So far, the mood seems justified. Even before a new anti-graft bill reaches parliament, which re-opened this week, claims were being made that it was full of holes.