竹下登
In the face of Fukuda's strong opposition, Tanaka engineered the selections of prime ministers Masayoshi Ōhira (1978–80) and Zenkō Suzuki (1980–82). The accession of Yasuhiro Nakasone to the prime ministership in 1982 would also not have occurred without Tanaka's support. As a result, Nakasone, at that time a politically weak figure, was nicknamed "Tanakasone". But Tanaka's faction was dealt a grave blow when one of his subordinates, Noboru Takeshita, decided to form a breakaway group.