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Inejiro Asanuma (Asanuma Inejir?,December 27, 1898October 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 extremist 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.
Contents [hide]
1 Early life
2 Political career
3 Assassination
4 References
5 External links
Early life[edit]
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[edit]
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.[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.
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Assassination[edit]
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 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 wakizashi
through Asanuma's abdomen, killing him. The entire incident was broadcast live on television, witnessed
by millions of viewers, and preserved on film.[2][3]
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.[4] 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[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b c19791998
ISBN 4167209047
^ Jump up to: 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.
Jump up ^ Langdon, Frank (1973). Japan's Foreign Policy. Vancouver: University of British Columbia
Press. p. 19. ISBN 0774800151. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
Jump up ^ "Leftist's Killer Suicide in Japan". The New York Times. 3 November 1960. Retrieved 17 April
2013.