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your offer. This week, I'm going to recommend the things they carried by Tim O'Brien.

Look, this is just a classic of modern American literature.

Tim O'Brien, who was a veteran of America's War in Vietnam,

has written probably one of the most phenomenal pieces of war-related writing in, really, the history of literature.

If you haven't engaged with it before, now's your chance.

If you have, here's a chance to revisit it, and hey, it's narrated by Brian Cranston.

Go to audibletrial.com slash Japan to claim your copy. Hello and welcome to the History of Japan podcast, episode 327, The Lockheed Scandal, Part 2.

When the Lockheed scandal came to light in Japan, it quickly became front-page news.

Prime Minister Miki Takeo appeared in front of the diet to promise investigations.

The opposition socialists actually boycotted the diet for over a month, over the question of

whether materials handed over by the United States to Japanese investigators would be kept

confidential. Prime Minister Miki's popularity would implode over the early course of the scandal,

dropping 20 points in the first month after the news broke.

And all of that begs the question. Why?

Or perhaps not why. After all bribery is a serious crime.

Official corruption is rightly considered to be the kind of thing that undermines confidence

in a democracy and is thus extremely dangerous for those that, you know, live in a democracy.

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