Recruit was a rapidly growing company with massive interests in real estate during the booming land market of the late 1980s. In 1989, Recruit listed its stock on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, but before doing so, large amounts of stock were sold to many politicians at prices below the initial market price. Although not illegal, the practice put large amounts of money in politicians’ pockets and political favors were later granted to the company. Prime Minister Takeshita Noboru of the Liberal-Democratic Party was forced out of office for his part in the affair.
