On 06/04/2010 09:09 AM, chuckers wrote:
> On Jun 4, 6:54 am, mtfes...@netMAPSONscape.net wrote:
>> CL<flot...@yahoo.com>  wrote:
>>> On 06/04/2010 12:57 AM, Declan Murphy wrote:
>>>> On Jun 3, 6:43 pm, CL<flot...@yahoo.com>    wrote:
>>>>> On 06/03/2010 06:00 PM, Declan Murphy wrote:
>>>>>> On Jun 3, 1:41 pm, mtfes...@netMAPSONscape.net wrote:
>>>>>>> Declan Murphy<declan_mur...@hotmail.com>      wrote:
>>>>>>>> About to have a 5th Prime Minister in 4 years. I bet 1 pint of
>>>>>>>> Guinness to each of you that we will see a 6th before December.
>>
>>>>>>> Vaguely reminds me of my term in the land of the crashing Nikkei;
>>>>>>> Takeshita->Uno->Kaifu within 3 months.
>>
>>>>>> I always forget Uno. I wonder why :-)
>>
>>>>> Wasn't he the guy who had to resign because his wife slapped him around
>>>>> and kicked him down a flight of stairs as he returned home from his
>>>>> mistresses' apartment (that's supposed to be a singular possessive, but
>>>>> I forget what you do with the apostrophe in a multiple 's' case)?  Lots
>>>>> of people forgot about him.  Rumor has it that he had the worst attended
>>>>> funeral of any former PM in the post-WWII era.
>>
>>>> I thought he was the guy who had to resign because his mistress (high
>>>> rank geisha) complained to the press that he wasn't paying the
>>>> appropriate amount.
>>> Then the boxer wife was Takeshita (?).  I've been here a long time and
>>> it is hard keeping the stupidity-based scandals separate from the
>>> greed-based ones.
>>
>> Anyone remember Kanemaru? Not a PM, but was caught with $42M in stocks, cash,
>> and gold bullion in his HOUSE? His excuse (I kid you not) was that he was going
>> to use the money to "fight corruption in politics".
>>
> The spousal unit keeps mentioning Kanemaru, expecting me to know who
> that is. It keeps coming up because we are apparently an acquaintance
> of one of his descendants (daughter?)  Or maybe that is a different
> Kanemaru.  Or not even a Kanemaru.  I try to pay attention to whats
> being said around the house but some of it just won't stick.

Back when it was still a fish wrapper but for a much better grade of 
fish, The Japan Times did an April Fools edition with a letter to the 
editor that went something like:

"Some of my friends are real pranksters.   The Public Prosecutor was 
just here with the police and they found that a few of my old buddies 
from the construction industry stopped by and told my wife that they 
were going to fix the sagging floor in my tatami room.  They did a real 
good job and the floor feels solid.  Imagine my surprise when the Public 
Prosecutor pulled back the tatami and found that the repair guys had 
filled in the space with gold bars.  What wacky friends.  Always good 
for a practical joke ... "

Just tried  to Google at the JT site and didn't find it.  I had heard 
that their back numbers had been clipped heavily at the request of their 
  owner, who was angling for a post in Keidanren.  So it is either there 
and I don't remember the magic words and secret dance or the Long Knives 
got it.

-- 
CL