The eastern Hokkaido region of Tokachi has become scandal-central.
The area has a population of only 354,000, but the three key national-level politicians who call it home have been hit by allegations of unseemly conduct.
Shoichi Nakagawa, an eight-term lawmaker from the Liberal Democratic Party, was forced last month to resign as finance minister after appearing to be drunk at a Group of Seven news conference in Rome.
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