Just a few months ago, Tokyo Gov. Naoki Inose was riding high. He had finally succeeded in bringing the Olympic Games back to Tokyo, a feat predecessor Shintaro Ishihara was unable to achieve and one that helped cheer up millions of Japanese.
But despite the luster that put on Inose's political career, he is now caught up in a major scandal, having owned up to receiving a whopping ¥50 million from a shady hospital tycoon without including it in any of his mandatory political funding reports.
Inose gave the funds back to the hospital group, Tokushukai, right after it was alleged in September to have violated election laws last December to help get Liberal Democratic Party candidate Takeshi Tokuda, a son of the founder, Torao Tokuda, elected to the Lower House.