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Assassination of Inejirō Asanuma

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Assassination of Inejirō Asanuma

On 12 October 1960, Inejirō Asanuma (浅沼 稲次郎, Asanuma Inejirō), chairman of the Japan Socialist Party, was assassinated at Hibiya Public Hall in Tokyo. During a televised debate, 17-year-old right-wing ultranationalist Otoya Yamaguchi charged onto the stage and fatally stabbed Asanuma with a wakizashi, a type of traditional short sword. The assassination weakened the Japan Socialist Party, inspired a series of copycat crimes, and made Yamaguchi an enduring hero and subsequently a martyr to the Greater Japan Patriotic Party and other Japanese far-right groups.

Infobox

Location
Hibiya Public Hall, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
Date
October 12, 1960; 65 years ago (1960-10-12) 3:05 p.m. (UTC 09:00)
Target
Inejirō Asanuma, Chairman of the Japan Socialist Party
Attack type
Assassination by stabbing
Weapon
Wakizashi
Victim
Inejirō Asanuma
Perpetrator
Otoya Yamaguchi
Motive
Opposition and resentment towards Asanuma's words and actions during his visit to China and during the Anpo protests Deter the spread of left-wing movements in Japan

Tables

· Assassination
汝、浅沼稲次郎は日本赤化をはかっている。自分は、汝個人に恨みはないが、社会党の指導的立場にいる者としての責任と、訪中に際しての暴言と、国会乱入の直接のせん動者としての責任からして、汝を許しておくことはできない。ここに於て我、汝に対し天誅を下す。 皇紀二千六百二十年十月十二日 山口二矢。
汝、浅沼稲次郎は日本赤化をはかっている。自分は、汝個人に恨みはないが、社会党の指導的立場にいる者としての責任と、訪中に際しての暴言と、国会乱入の直接のせん動者としての責任からして、汝を許しておくことはできない。ここに於て我、汝に対し天誅を下す。 皇紀二千六百二十年十月十二日 山口二矢。
Original Japanese Text
汝、浅沼稲次郎は日本赤化をはかっている。自分は、汝個人に恨みはないが、社会党の指導的立場にいる者としての責任と、訪中に際しての暴言と、国会乱入の直接のせん動者としての責任からして、汝を許しておくことはできない。ここに於て我、汝に対し天誅を下す。 皇紀二千六百二十年十月十二日 山口二矢。
English Translation
You, Inejirō Asanuma, are planning to turn Japan red [i.e. communist]. Although I bear no grudge against you as an individual, for the stances you have taken in your role as leader of the Socialist Party, for the outrageous statement you made when you visited China, and for the responsibility you bear for the intrusion into the National Diet, I cannot grant you forgiveness. I shall hereby become the instrument that brings down heaven's judgment upon you. Day 12 of the 10th month of the 2,620th year of imperial rule, Otoya Yamaguchi
Original Japanese Text
English Translation
汝、浅沼稲次郎は日本赤化をはかっている。自分は、汝個人に恨みはないが、社会党の指導的立場にいる者としての責任と、訪中に際しての暴言と、国会乱入の直接のせん動者としての責任からして、汝を許しておくことはできない。ここに於て我、汝に対し天誅を下す。 皇紀二千六百二十年十月十二日 山口二矢。
You, Inejirō Asanuma, are planning to turn Japan red [i.e. communist]. Although I bear no grudge against you as an individual, for the stances you have taken in your role as leader of the Socialist Party, for the outrageous statement you made when you visited China, and for the responsibility you bear for the intrusion into the National Diet, I cannot grant you forgiveness. I shall hereby become the instrument that brings down heaven's judgment upon you. Day 12 of the 10th month of the 2,620th year of imperial rule, Otoya Yamaguchi

References

  1. The sword was an undersized replica of a sword forged in the Kamakura period by the swordsmith Rai Kunitoshi, and thus i
  2. This is a reference to the "June 15th Incident" of 15 June 1960, when leftist protesters stormed the National Diet compo
  3. 12 October 1960 in the Gregorian calendar.
  4. 『テロルの決算』文藝春秋
  5. Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo
    https://books.google.com/books?id=Re5hDwAAQBAJ
  6. Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo
    https://books.google.com/books?id=Re5hDwAAQBAJ
  7. Aikokutou
    http://aikokutou.net/?p=1551
  8. Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo
    https://books.google.com/books?id=Re5hDwAAQBAJ
  9. 戦後文学の作家たち
  10. Tokyo 1960: Days of Rage & Grief
    https://visualizingcultures.mit.edu/tokyo_1960/anp2_essay01.html
  11. Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo
    https://books.google.com/books?id=Re5hDwAAQBAJ
  12. Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo
    https://books.google.com/books?id=Re5hDwAAQBAJ
  13. 戦後文学の作家たち
  14. Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo
    https://books.google.com/books?id=Re5hDwAAQBAJ
  15. Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo
    https://books.google.com/books?id=Re5hDwAAQBAJ
  16. Yomiuri Shimbun
  17. Great Japan Patriotic Party
    http://aikokutou.net/?p=3843
  18. Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo
    https://books.google.com/books?id=Re5hDwAAQBAJ
  19. Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo
    https://books.google.com/books?id=Re5hDwAAQBAJ
  20. Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo
    https://books.google.com/books?id=Re5hDwAAQBAJ
  21. Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo
    https://books.google.com/books?id=Re5hDwAAQBAJ
  22. Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo
    https://books.google.com/books?id=Re5hDwAAQBAJ
  23. The Japan Times
    https://web.archive.org/web/20150124085550/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/01/22/national/self-censorship-biggest-threat-free-speech-japan/
  24. www.worldpressphoto.org
    https://www.worldpressphoto.org/collection/photo-contest/1961/yasushi-nagao/1
  25. Spectator USA
    https://spectator.us/2018/10/gavin-mcinnes/
Image
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