An election for the upper house of the Diet (parliament) is due in July, and the governing coalition, led by Mr Mori's Liberal Democrats, looks destined tosuffer a heavy defeat, losing the majority in that chamber which is crucial if it is to get its legislation on to the statute books.
But just as the sleaze that racked the last Tory government only amplified the defeat they were already due tosuffer in 1997, so this scandal only reinforces the likely outcome of the next election: a loss for Labour, and grudging approval for the Tories.