Ding Nuozhou, The Political Bribery during the Edo Period and the Response of the Shogunate

　　During the Edo period, the political bribery in Japan reached its climax. The centralized system of the Edo shogunate was the institutional basis for the political bribery. The high class officials of the shogunate held the unregulated power, and the ownership of political interests can be determined by their own thoughts. Under such political system bringing about bribery, the appearance of notorious corruptions never ceased. The political bribery not only damaged the political and social fairness, but also greatly hindered the administrative operation of the shogunate. Accordingly, after the corrupted officials lost their power, there would always appear some politicians who vigorously carried out the anti bribery policy and intended to reverse the political atmosphere. However, the factors, including the political system, the economic situation, and the attitude to bribe of the bureaucracy and the public, determined that any anti bribery effort would be futile. Even at the end of the Edo period, the political bribery was still not fundamentally contained.