Takeo Miki
In January 1954 con-man Masutomi Ito was exposed for perpetrating mass investment fraud, a scheme which eventually led investigators to a ring of shipbuilders who were bribing politicians in exchange for subsidies. Liberal Party Secretary General Eisaku Satō and Political Affairs Research Committee head Hayato Ikeda were suspected of involvement. A few days earlier Yoshida's Liberals had met with the Reform Party and the Separatist Liberal Party and held negotiations with representatives of each party in the hopes of unifying the three right-leaning parties. When the talks fell through, Miki saw his chance and linked up with Hatoyama and Nobusuke Kishi of the Liberal Party as well as Reform Party members Takeo Miki and Tadao Oasa to seek the establishment of a new anti-Yoshida political party. In November 1954 the Democratic Party was constituted with Hatoyama as president, Kishi as Secretary General, and Miki as Chairman of the Executive Council.