Joji Yamamoto was a young, idealistic politician with a bright future -- but all that promise dissolved on Sept. 4, 2000, when he was arrested on suspicion of fraud.
Soon after the arrest, Yamamoto admitted his guilt. He had, indeed, pocketed more than 25 million yen of the salary paid to him by the state for a Diet secretary who didn't exist. Duly convicted of fraud, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Yamamoto's life could hardly have taken a more dramatic turn away from his student days at Tokyo's top-flight Waseda University, when he was burning with passion to change the world.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.