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Inejirō Asanuma

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Inejiro Asanuma
Chair of the Japan Socialist Party
In office
1960–1960
Member of the House of Representatives
Personal details
Born(1898-12-27)December 27, 1898
DiedOctober 12, 1960(1960-10-12) (aged 61)
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Political partyJapan Socialist Party

Inejiro Asanuma (浅沼 稲次郎, Asanuma Inejirō, December 27, 1898 – October 12, 1960) was a Japanese politician, and leader of the Japan Socialist Party. A noted public speaker, Asanuma was unusual in postwar Japan for his forceful advocacy of socialism, and his support of the Chinese Communist Party was particularly controversial.

Asanuma was assassinated by an extremist during a televised political debate in Tokyo. His violent death was seen in graphic detail on national television, causing widespread public shock and outrage.

Early life

Inejiro Asanuma's mother died during his birth, leaving him to be raised by his father, who later died of cancer at the age of forty-two.[1]

Political career

In the 1930s, Asanuma became a national socialist, lending his support to the war policies of the Imperial Japanese Army, and served in the Diet from 1936. However, he withdrew his candidacy from the 1942 election and retired from politics until after the war.[1]

He was widely criticized for a 1959 incident where he went to Communist-controlled Mainland China and called the United States "the shared enemy of China and Japan". When he returned from this trip he wore a Mao suit while disembarking from his plane in Japan, sparking criticism even from Socialist leaders.[1] At that time, both the United States and Japan recognized the Republic of China as the rightful government of Mainland China.

Assassination

File:Death of Inejiro Asanuma.jpg
The assassination of Inejiro Asanuma (right); Pulitzer Prize winning photograph by Yasushi Nagao.[2] The photo was taken directly after Yamaguchi stabbed Asanuma and is here seen attempting a second stab though he is restrained before that happens

On October 12, 1960, Asanuma was assassinated by 17-year-old Otoya Yamaguchi, a right-wing extremist, at a televised political debate for the coming elections for the House of Representatives. While Asanuma spoke from the lectern at Tokyo's Hibiya Hall, Yamaguchi rushed onstage and ran his samurai sword through Asanuma's abdomen, killing him. The entire incident was broadcast live on television, witnessed by millions of viewers, and preserved on film.[3][2]

The Japanese public was deeply shocked by the Asanuma assassination. In its wake, a spate of mass demonstrations for peace and order ensued across the country.

The assassin Yamaguchi was captured at the scene of the crime, and a few weeks thereafter committed suicide while in police custody.

After Asanuma's death, the Japan Socialist Party further divided between politicians on the left and right, ultimately disbanding and reconstituting itself as the Social Democratic Party in 1996.

References

  1. ^ a b c 鶴崎友亀『浅沼稲次郎小伝』（たいまつ新書、1979年）1998年に新時代社より復刻。 ISBN 4167209047（復刻版）
  2. ^ a b Zelizer, Barbie (2010). About to Die:How News Images Move the Public. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 183. ISBN 0199752133. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
  3. ^ Langdon, Frank (1973). Japan's Foreign Policy. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press. p. 19. ISBN 0774800151. Retrieved August 18, 2012.

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