Inejiro Asanuma

Inejiro Asanuma
3rd Chair of the Japan Socialist Party
In office March 23, 1960 – October 12, 1960
Preceded by	Suzuki Mosaburō
Succeeded by	Jōtarō Kawakami
Member of the Japanese House of Representatives from Tokyo's 1st district
In office April 11, 1946 – October 12, 1960
In office February 21, 1936 – April 30, 1942
Personal details
Born	December 27, 1898 Miyake-jima, Izu Islands, Tokyo, Japan
Died	October 12, 1960 (aged 61) Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Political party	Japan Socialist Party
Alma mater	Waseda University

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 a nationalist while speaking in a televised political debate in Tokyo. His violent death was seen in graphic detail on national television, causing widespread public shock and outrage.^[1]

Early life

Asanuma's mother died during his birth, leaving him to be raised by his father, who later died of cancer at the age of 42.^[2]

Political career

Pulitzer Prize winning photograph by Yasushi Nagao.^[3] The photo was taken directly after Yamaguchi stabbed Asanuma and is here seen attempting a second stab, although he was restrained before that could happen.

In the 1930s, Asanuma became a socialist and served in the Diet from 1936. However, he withdrew his candidacy from the 1942 election and retired from politics until after the war.^[2]

Asanuma 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.^[2] At that time, Japan and many other countries recognized the Republic of China (Taiwan) as the rightful government of Mainland China.

Assassination

On October 12, 1960, Asanuma was assassinated by 17-year-old Otoya Yamaguchi, a militant nationalist, during 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 yoroidoshi (a traditional samurai sword) through Asanuma's ribs on the left side, killing him. Japanese television company NHK was video recording the debate for later transmission and the tape of Asanuma's assassination was shown many times to millions of viewers.^[1][4]

The Japanese public was deeply shocked by Asanuma's 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 afterwards committed suicide while in police custody.^[5]

References

1. Chun, Jayson Makoto (2006). A Nation of a Hundred Million Idiots? : A Social History of Japanese Television, 1953–1973. Routledge. pp. 184–185. ISBN 978-0-415-97660-2. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
2. 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）
3. Zelizer, Barbie (2010). About to Die:How News Images Move the Public. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 183. ISBN 0199752133. Retrieved 2012-08-18.
4. Langdon, Frank (1973). Japan's Foreign Policy. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press. p. 19. ISBN 0774800151. Retrieved 2012-08-18.
5. "Leftist's Killer Suicide in Japan". The New York Times. 3 November 1960. Retrieved 2013-04-17.

External links

• Find-A-Grave Bio.- Inejiro Asanuma
• Factory that Che Guevara named after ex-Japan Socialist Party leader is still in operation in Cuba by The Mainichi Daily News, February 3, 2009.
• Video of Inejiro Asanuma assassination on YouTube