Toshiki Kaifu
In June 1989, Sōsuke Uno became Prime Minister only to resign less than three months later in August 1989 amid a sex scandal revealed by a geisha. The controversy surrounding Uno's extramarital affair was more focused on irresponsibility rather than immorality; Uno supposedly did not support his mistress, at the least not with an appropriate amount, which led her to complain publicly. The story was not widely publicized in Japan until "The Washington Post" picked up the story from the "Mainichi Shimbun", bringing international attention to Uno. Following Uno's resignation, most LDP lawmakers refused to associate with him, and he quickly lost control over his faction within the party. He was succeeded by the final Prime Minister of the 1980s, Toshiki Kaifu, who was seen as a reformer within the LDP. Kaifu's appointment was a reaction to the political scandals of the late 1980s, but his attempts to reform the party were ultimately unsuccessful. The defeat in the House of Councillors elections of 1989 was the prelude for the LDP's decline as dominant party in the 1990s.