Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 8, 1976, Winnipeg, Manitoba 11 Winnipeg free press focus tuesday june Power broker who traffics in lives and scandal by to Kashfi Taci Ulbana a key figure in the Lockheed scandal in Japan is Yoshio Kodama influential rightist known to have ties with the underworld and important political Fig ures. Kodama is believed to have been the conduit for some million in bribes. His services to Lockheed were twofold. One assignment was to persuade All Nippon airways to Purchase six lock need tristan jets instead of Mcdonnell Douglas do los. Since All Nippon is a private firm no violation of Law was involved although bribery of officers May be viewed As an immoral commercial practice and in fact pres sure was exerted by officials of the ministry of transportation. Kodama s other project was to induce Japan s National defence Council to scrap plans for producing Antisubmarine planes domestically and instead import Lockheed s pc-3 Orion. Outstanding career although the intricate web of Large scale corruption has been reported in the . Senate investigation Many pieces of the Puzzle Are still missing particularly the names of High ranking Japa Nese government officials involved in the scandal. Also somewhat shadowy is the figure of Yoshio Kodama. Mis name has been whispered whenever something major has happened in Japan during the past thirty years. Kodama is behind this people said with Awe. But no one knows exactly what sort of Man he is what he does and How he does it. Kodama manipulates Japan s rightist gangsters politicians industrialists bureaucrats and journalists like puppets and his influence extends even to Taiwan and Korea. His network exists both underground and in conventional society with inter Locking links in myriad Fields. Kodama is essentially an underground Consul a fixer a broker. Seldom Are the other people he uses aware that they Are Kodama s tools. Undoubtedly some political leaders discovered his hand Only after the lock heed scandal broke. Herein lies his favorite threat few people want to discuss Kodama. They Are afraid for Kodama kills physically As Well As politically but some facts about him Are known. He has had an outstanding career As a rightist activist and was in prison three times before the War. In 1929 at 18 he served a six month sentence for appealing directly to emperor Hirohito to help the jobless and poor Farmers. In 1931 he sent a Dagger to then finance minister Junnosuke Inoue de manding that he commit har Akiri and admit responsibility for plunging the country into financial chaos. He received a five month sentence. These however were minor incidents compared with an attempt in 1932 to Engineer the assassination of Japan s political and economic leaders. This was a full fledged terrorist plot to bomb a Power station and Cut off electricity for the entire City of Tokyo. Kodama and his co conspirators planned in the ensuing darkness to gun Down the nation s leaders. Earlier that year prime minister Tsuyoshi Inukai and finance minister Inoue had been murdered. Kodama s scheme failed when a grenade exploded accidentally and the plot was uncovered. As police stormed his House Kodama slipped a pistol in his pocket fled to the roof and off into the night jump ing from roof to roof. He was captured the next Day at the Home of a Friend who had sold out to the authorities. Kodama sustained serious injuries when he shot himself in a suicide at tempt before his arrest. Charged with attempted murder and illegal Possession of explosives he spent four years and six months in prison. After the War Kodama was no longer the trigger Man but used hired in 1960 one of them an attempt on the life of former prime minister Nobu Suke Kishi who had reneged on his Promise to step Down from the Premier ship. One of Kodama s men stabbed Kishi at a party reception. In 1963 a Kodama Assassin seriously wounded a Man who had attempted to wreck his plan to organize a nationwide Syndicate. You want us to make a Hole in your smooth was a favorite threat of Kodama s men. A High official of a japanese steel company whose president Kodama had installed once refused to answer questions by Tokyo police saying i May be shot once i take a step out of this building. I cannot Tell you the truth unless you guarantee my Kodama s threats Are effective be cause he maintains organizations capable of carrying them out swiftly including a rightist group called the Kodama army. Extensive travels Kodama also kills politically by expos ing scandals about japanese leaders. To this end he maintains a dragnet which gathers and spreads information. Be cause he has Access to top politicians and industrialists his information is usually murderously accurate and he has far reaching tentacles in the mass Media including reporters on the mass circulation newspaper yom Inri and Mamom and the giants Asahi and Sankel. Kodama himself runs a Chain of political and economic Trade papers which publish scandals. Kodama often serves As a trouble shooter for Japan s leading companies. In 1972, for example when Sanko ship Ping company attempted to take Over another company Japan lines the lat Ter asked leading industrialists to inter Vene. When mediation efforts failed an editor of Auw suggested no Ordinary Means will do. You have to go to Kodama although top management officials protested the president of the company agreed. That s what we have to he said. We have to ask Kodama. He is the Only one who can Cope with Sanko s president Kawamoto now is Japan s minister of Commerce and Industry Why do political and financial leaders tremble at Kodama s ire Isamu Imazumi a member of the opposition Japan socialist party raised the question at a parliamentary hearing called to discuss jct fighters for the air Force a member of parliament waited at the Gate of Kodama s House past he said. He had angered Kodama and wanted to apologize. Why does every body the chief Cabinet Secretary and Secretary of the ruling party have to see or. Kodama physically As Well As politically i could not reveal his Nane at the Imazumi told me. He was Sho Jiro Kawashima then Secretary of the Liberal democratic party. He was apparently involved in a Bank fraud in 195? and an incriminating conversation was recorded. Kodama got hold of the 18 minute tape and threatened to make it Public. Another member of parliament waited at the Gate of Kodama s House for three Days just to see him. I cannot give you his name because he is still in Imazumi was once invited to a restaurant by Shoal Tanaka chair Man of the lower House finance commit tee who was closely associated with Kodama. When Imazumi refused a bribe Tanaka sneered there Are two More fools in the Japan socialist later when Imazumi was investigating irregularities in Japan s reparations payment to Indonesia Kodama asked him to his House. When Imazumi Rose to leave after an hour s conference Kodama produced two dozen expensive foreign watches and said Why Don t you take one of when Imazumi declined Kodama said All right. How about talking this Little Box with at Home Imazumi opened the Box and found in it a 40-Page statement entitled about Isamu Imazumi. Ii detailed his relations with women his Money prob lems and other embarrassing aspects of his private life. This report was the result of a month Long investigation during which he was trailed by Kodama s men. Outraged Imazumi grabbed the Telephone dialled and heard Kodama s deep threatening voice i have a couple of magazines interested in publishing the report. Everyone has a Shady Side Why Don t you become smart it s better than los ing the next Imazumi dropped the investigation. Kodama is a curious Man. There arc Many people who genuinely love re Spect and Are grateful to him. One of these is Hisayuki Machii Leader of Kodama s terrorist group who said please Don t Call him my Friend. He is my Mentor and has All my another Masayoshi Takahashy wrote a Book about Kodama in which he said i have no education. I had been gambling and fighting All my life until or. Kodama came along. He saved vicious though he is Kodama is also a Man of strange Charm. A Newspaperman who has interviewed him said when you Are talking with him he comes across As sincere and honest. You forget yourself in his even rightists who look Down on him find him personally attractive. For in stance Tatsuo Tsukui head of the Radi Cal nationalist party said one thing about Kodama is his remarkable ability to grasp other people s Point of View to Charm them. Shortly after we first met he showed up at my place one Day carrying a Chest of drawers on his shoulder. You Don t have any he said. Perhaps you can use this you May say what be did was theatrical but All the leaders of the Liberal democratic party Trust him. There is something about Kodama which makes you Trust him. Unquestionably his spectacular Suc Cess has been due at least in part to the fact that powerful men like him. For example Tatsuo Kawai director of the information Bureau of the foreign ministry took an instant liking to Kodama who was then 26, gave him Money and said Why Don t you use this to take a firsthand look at suicide squads two years later he started doing intelligence work for the army and the foreign ministry became a protege of a Navy Admiral and then established his own firm to provide supplies to naval aviation. With several Hundred japanese work ing for him at Home and thousands abroad he funnelled goods Worth More than million to the Navy during the War. Kodama was a protege of vice Admi ral Akijiro onishi founder of the Kamikaze suicide squads. When top Navy officers objected to doing business with a Man of Kodama s reputation. Onishi re joined i Don t care what you say. I m going to use the Day the War ended onishi committed har Akiri. Kodama who was a witness grabbed a sword and tried to do the same but others prevented him. Although Kodama is said to have graduated from Nippon University actually he finished Only the fourth Grade. During his frequent foreign travels he has had a hard time at customs because he could not write a word of English. Many traditional rightists look Down on him. Japan s rightist movement gained momentum when the american occupation forces switched their target from nationalism to communism around the time of the korean War and his Power grew with the resurgence of the rightist move ment. Kodama further enhanced his status by playing a key role at the time of president Eisenhower s scheduled visit to Japan in after Eisenhower s press Secretary James Hagerty was mobbed by leftists when he arrived to prepare for the presidential visit the ruling Liberal democratic party decided to use rightists to counter the demonstrations. Young rightists Kodama mobilized about right wingers to Welcome the american presi Dent. They prepared for confrontations by arming themselves with clubs and other weapons. Trucks helicopters and planes were prepared for the Battle. The Liberal democratic party supplied 2 million to finance these activities the Money mysteriously disappeared when Eisenhower s visit was called off prompting speculation that Kodama had pocketed it. Hearings called to track Down the Money failed to prove anything and Kodama s reputation grew As a Man who can get things done in an emergency. Kodama then established his own group called the Kofu Crosswind club composed of experienced rightists and set up a separate group to train Young rightists. Kodama s influence Over japanese business corporations increased rapidly with the death in 1968 of Yusaburo Kubo who wielded Strong influence Over about companies through his activities at stockholders meetings. Kodama and company largely took Over from Kubo after his death driving out opposition groups or absorbing them. One oppo nent Kunio Ueno recalled that Kodama launched a smear Campaign to try to bring him into his Camp. Around 19701 suddenly found myself the target of verbal Ueno said. Pamphlets were distributed around Tokyo detailing so called scandals involving me. They were actually ground less. Smear letters were sent to Compa Nies i was connected with urging them to Cut off their relations with me. I did t know who was behind this. But one Day a Leader of the Kodama group came to me and suggested that i see Kodama about this. Then i after the Lockheed scandal there were reports that Kodama s influence had waned. This is not True especially in Japan s financial world according to Ueno. I decided to refuse to join his he said. I took him to court charging him with defamation of Char Acter. But i think Kodama had the prosecution on his Side too. The prosecutor somehow kept suggesting that i drop the charge. Three of the country s top Busi Ness executives also stepped in and urged me to Settle the matter out of smear letters Early in his career Kodama penetrated military circles subsequently poli tics and then the financial world. Today All the country s top business Leaden appear close to Kodama. In an autobiography he recounts an episode that took place at the end of the Yoshida administration in 1954 during a movement to establish a new party headed by Ichiro Hatoyama. One Day Miki a party official not related to the present prime minister phoned me and told me to come Over right away. When i arrived i found him shaken. Hatoyama is he said we have to prod him. We have to talk him into this and you Are the Only Man who can do it he was dumping quite a Job in my Lap. Talk him into it is a mild expression. In truth he was asking me to do some one of Kodama s persuasion techniques is to keep in his debt in Hatoyama s Case Kodama covered up his involvement in a 1959 payoff scandal. Kodama also do nations when the Liberal party was established. Another reason for Kodama s unparalleled influence is that he penetrated hot Only the ruling party but also the opposition. This i believe will be revealed As the Lockheed scandal unfolds. Kodama recalled learning this strategy from Miki his Mentor. Whenever elections approached or. Miki prepared Cash and wrapped it up in Kodama once said. We put rubber bands around the packages and wrote initials on them. They were always opposition party members. I once asked him Why he bothered to finance opposition Candi dates he replied you Don t under stand it is Good to have Good enemies on your Side Tachl Bouw prepared this re port with the co operatic of Ike re search staff of the Tokyo monthly by Gei ski Iii where these excerpts appeared. Reprinted from june s Atlas world press review letters to the editor time for guaranteed income much More has to be Thrifty Bobi sir we wish to support an adequate guaranteed income for Manitoban and All canadians. This has been an Issue before the country for some three and a half years and is now before the Federal and provincial welfare ministers in Ottawa. At this time the eight and final meeting of the ministers place and with much stress and caution before the country particularly via the anti inflation Board and re cent strict budget we Hope for some progressive Leader ship. Will or can the welfare ministers and their support staff give to the country what their finance and Premier col leagues cannot or will not if the former Are in closer touch with what the poor and the unemployed experience can they inform and persuade the latter ministers to be More responsive to the needs of the poor this is the right and Ripe tune for the three and a half year review of our entire so Cial Security system to speak boldly. Habitat in Vancouver and discussions of the fourth United National conference on Trade and development in Nairobi on a new International economic order reflect the same question How will our country fish or Cut bait to be putting its own House in just order via reformed More adequate income distribution and relevant social services but we May expect Little if our political and civil servant leadership decides merely to reflect As a Mirror the Cau Tion and scepticism of Pur Public opinion leadership. By the latter we wish to Peti Tion the mass Media to cover the debate of the Federal and provincial welfare ministers conference and resulting recommendations. St. Matthews Maryland is part of two larger congregations work and ministry. The anglican component and the United Church Side have also Given study and debate to Why and How a guaranteed in come if adequate May better Deal with the income needs of the poor. Our committee that supervises immediate work in the West Central districts of Winnipeg studied the Guaran teed income Issue for three months Over four sets of meetings with resources peo ple from professional and Lay organizations. Poor people from within the districts also participated and endeavoured to keep our study on target. We found it All too easy to get Hung up on Statis tics alleged abusers and the financial Side of the Issue rather than the Concrete in just and very passionate Side of what to have to live in poverty amid affluence. We discovered that poverty is real and hard to get hold of that the three year plus de Bate is Complex and full of detours and compromises and that income deficiency is a major part of Why there is poverty but that social ser vices and work Opportunity if meaningful and. With real incentives Are also major themes. Finally we have had to admit our own complicity or collaboration in the poverty syndrome or picture. As upper class members of Winnipeg society with distinct advantages or head starts in this our one life on Earth we have had to admit that our wealth and income Are at the definite distinct expense of others poverty. The rest of our lives must be a response to this humbling and troubling realization. We look Forward to some immediate and hopefully Ade quate coverage of the present ministers conference and recommendation. Rev. Barry k. Morris Winnipeg lost found sir i would like to thank the Many residents of Westwood who helped me search for my lost Basenji Pup which was missing for five Days. Everyone was so kind and helpful phoning to inform us when and where they had seen her and often calling just to ask if we had found her yet. I would like to express particular gratitude to the follow ing people the gentleman who Ted my dog one night. Even though he could not coax her to come to him Gladys Hall who phoned us with the wonderful news that she had found my Pup the girl at the switchboard of Job who matched up my lost announcement with mrs. Hall s found one enabling me to get my dog Back sooner. Thanks again to everyone involved. Winnipeg sir the following is copy in part of my recent letter to Bob Wilson la Wolseley in reply to his pamphlet the Wilson i must begin by saying that i m More than impressed with the pamphlet i received in the mail. Yes the first priority is to slow Down government spend ing. Yes there is too Large a complement of civil servants trying to handle the needs of the Public. Yes it is a Good thing that the progressive conservative caucus has Given you a free hand to use your exper i wonder How much the progressive conservative party can change the political Situa Tion in Manitoba if this party Ever again rises to Power. Already it is obvious that it does t constitute much of a threat As an opposition party. How does it expect to run a province by putting pamphlets in my Mailbox my dear Thrifty Bob much much More than this has to be done. It is again obvious to me that in the sending of this pamphlet to your constituents you Are proving your involvement in the political world As it now exists. Al ready you Are caught up in the useless spending aspect of government that you seem to deplore. This pamphlet is More than ample proof of this. With such a great beginning How can you Hope to avoid being caught up in the rest of the political whirlwind the whirlwind that you seem to think is unique Only to the nip party because once you re in there the line must be toed. The Petty entrapment the mumbling behind the hand the Wheeling and dealing and the less than useful appoint ments Are what keeps a Politi Cian in politics. Though you say it is my firm belief that government should be run by the people and not by the new democratic would you not concede that no mat Ter what party is in Power it is strictly out of the hands of the people the person on the Street no longer has a voice really. No matter what party is in Power it is still a government a government that has grown out of proportion to the needs of the people and out of proportion to even its own Power. Take for example your title Consumers and corporate internal services represent As the photo on Page two of the pamphlet indicates. What does this mean to me it Means nothing More than a bureaucratic title that has sat festered in the mind of some government official for a few years whose own office was created by another official whose Etc. Etc. It s nothing More than a piece of Security in the awful contradictory and unintelligible Maze that a party any party forms of itself. All us Thor editor must Bear the name and address of the writer. Addresses will not be published but Only signed correspondence will be published. Names of writers will not be withheld. All letters May be edited for length general in Terest and Good taste. And when it comes time for the progressive conservative party to take the magic Wand from the hands of the nip do you honestly think that the spending will cease that useless government projects won t still be launched that useless deals won t be that will never see fruition that the govern ment won t be any less con fused than it already is i think that any and All governments Are on an up Ward spiral along with every thing else that it will soon be so far from the reaches of the average person that voting will no longer be necessary that party officials and yes even Petty officials will come to Power by right of birth. The More out of proportion a governmental system be comes the greater the chances of it falling apart. I can hardly wait. It s gotten out of hand already Thrifty Bob and putting pamphlets in my Mailbox in t going to bring it Back to Earth. If practicality is the order of the Day realize that first you la never change the system from within especially not if you re going to run sir the freeze on medical research funding by the government last december caused a major cutback in medical research activity across Canada. This exacerbated the steady decline in True research support since 1971. There has been a major involvement to influence More favourable action not Only be medical scientists but by Citi Zens groups such As the canadians for health research and the Media. We welcomed or. Being a Consumers and corporate internal services representative i doubt that you re going to want to change your own party. It s cozy there in t it i have no political affiliations. When i vote i vote because i am under the As sumption i am making my own timid personal state ments. I vote because it is a so called right that any Cana Dian citizen has for voicing an opinion for or against a Politi Cal theory. But before i vote i also realize that no matter which party i vote for it eventually All boils Down to the same mess. There Are floods earthquakes threats of War Forest fires hog flus mind destroying television shows health destroying foods and rampant idiocy All Over the world. And what i want to know is what Are you going to do about it Thrifty Bob be fore volume two comes out Michael Hart Winnipeg editor s note the expression Thrifty Bob was used by or. Wilson in his pamphlet. Research funds announcement on May 18 at the standing committee hear Ings of the House of commons on health welfare and social affairs. This million supplement to the medical re search Council will help to fund some 100 investigators whose research was previously terminated or not funded. This makes up nearly a third of our shortfall of million for medical research required to stay at the same level of activity As a year ago. We Hope that the govern ment will continue to respond Arena cat sir As an overburdened taxpayer in Winnipeg i was certainly surprised when mayor Juba let the cat out of the bag by hinting that he has. Found some private interests who May wish to build a big Ger and better Arena for Winnipeg. This interesting revelation by the mayor me doubly grateful that our City Council against or. Juba s wishes wisely rejected spending any taxpayers Money for an Arena expansion. Look at All the Money that the Council saved us without any assistance from mayor Juba. One has to wonder if the mayor knew of these private interests prior to Council Mak ing its decision last March. If mayor Juba is really interested in getting a bigger Arena for the City i Hope that he will convince private inter ests to pay the Bill. Otherwise the decision taken by City Council in March should be final and mayor Juba should kindly remain silent about the matter for evermore. Winnipeg with the further supplements later this year to keep our research teams intact and. Also embark on a longer term policy of funding medical re search so vital to health care and health education. Or. Lalonde s initial action is widely appreciated by interested citizens and scientists alike. John h. Dirks m.d., president the Canadian society for clinical investigation Montreal ;