Since then, and until the DPJ’s victory in the 2008 upper-house election, Ozawa was almost always at the center of political battles against the LDP, building an effective political machine by making the most use of the art of patronage. In fact, Ozawa has established one of the largest financial war chests of any political party, using tactics reminiscent of Tanaka: three of Ozawa’s current and former political aides were recently arrested on charges of channeling kickbacks from civil engineering and construction firms into Ozawa’s fund-raising operation.