Fire Ravages Former Japan Prime Minister's House: A Reminder Of The Decades-Old Lockheed Bribery Scandal

The residence of the late former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka in Tokyo was significantly damaged by fire on Monday. No injuries were reported.

What Happened: The fire broke out in a two-story house within the premises of the residence. The police were called to the Bunkyo Ward around 3:20 p.m. Monday, by which time the house was already completely destroyed, and an adjacent forested area was also engulfed, reported The Japan Times.

The late Prime Minister’s daughter, former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka, and her husband, former Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka, were at the residence during the incident but were able to escape unharmed. Makiko Tanaka, 79, informed the police that she was lighting incense sticks when the fire started.

See Also: Donald Trump Suggests Supreme Court Justices He Appointed Could ‘Go Out Of Their Way’ To Hurt Him In Colorado Appeal: ‘I’ve Never Seen Anything Like It’

Why It Matters: The residence, symbolic of Kakuei Tanaka’s influence and affluence, is centrally located in Tokyo, near a university and a hotel. It is also infamous for being the site of the notorious Lockheed corruption scandal involving the sale of U.S. aircraft decades ago.

The scandal involved Lockheed Aircraft Corp. paying questionable bribes of up to $38 million from 1970 through 1975. The event is likely to propel the scandal back into the public eye, reported The Washington Post in 1977. At the time Kakuei Tanaka was charged with taking $1.6 million from Lockheed, part of the $12.6 million paid by the company to Japanese officials.

Lockheed testified that it paid $147 million in overseas commissions to sell its products between 1970 and 1975 and out of which $22 million was questionable.

Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported on the death of a journalist in 2021 who played a crucial role in exposing the scandal.

It should be noted that Lockheed Corporation merged with Martin Marietta in 1994. The combined company is today trading under the Lockheed Martin Corp LMT name. The company is known for its F-35 Lightning II and F-16 Fighting Falcon combat aircraft.

Image Generated with artificial intelligence via DALL-E

Read Next: Remembering The Weed-smoking Capitol Rioter Who Compared Himself To Elon Musk And Called Jan. 6 A ‘Beautiful Day’