State Archives: Charles Haughey visit to Japan coincided with Takeshita corruption scandal

One could hardly imagine a more traumatic political time to visit Japan than late April 1989, when Taoiseach Charles Haughey arrived there. Japan had been shaken for months by a financial scandal, involving a company offering shares to politicians at preferential prices.

The deputy prime minister and minister for finance were both forced out of office early, due to their involvement. Prime minister Noboru Takeshita tried to distance himself from the scandal by explicitly denying personal involvement, and drastically reshuffling his cabinet with the introduction of 15 new faces in December 1988. Within two days, however, he was hit by further controversy when his new Minister for Justice had to quit over disclosures of his involvement.