Word: tachibana
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...regular contributor, Takashi Tachibana, 34, who has written widely on the Middle East, was commissioned by Bungei-Shunju editors last August to check out rumors that Premier Tanaka had spent huge personal sums to win last July's parliamentary election; the editors could not figure out where Tanaka got all the money. Tachibana was given a staff of 20 to help on the project. Little of what they uncovered was entirely new, but Tachibana's raiders were able to make some intriguing juxtapositions-like Tanaka's ability to accumulate some $10 million worth of homes and villas...
...team encountered no political interference. Says Tachibana: "We went to tax offices and census registration bureaus, bowed to the officials, paid a modest fee for copying and came back with a treasure-house of information...
Since the treasure appeared in print, Tachibana has been lionized by interviewers, Bungei-Shunju's circulation has jumped 10%, and collectors are now paying up to $60 for a copy of the historic November issue (actual price: $1.16). Yet only one newspaper, the Communist Party organ Akahata (Red Flag), has since formed an investigative team, and many Japanese doubt that their discreet press will ever develop an appetite for muckraking. Even so, Bungei-Shunju will remain a goad to the complaisant. The magazine's January issue, due on the newsstands next week, contains further disclosures about Tanaka. Managing...