Inejirō Asanuma | |
|---|---|
浅沼 稲次郎 | |
.jpg) Asanuma in 1952 | |
| Chairman of theJapan Socialist Party | |
| In office 23 March 1960 – 12 October 1960 | |
| Preceded by | Suzuki Mosaburō |
| Succeeded by | Saburo Eda (acting) Jōtarō Kawakami |
| General Secretary of theJapan Socialist Party | |
| In office 13 October 1955 – 23 March 1960 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Saburo Eda |
| Member of theHouse of Representatives | |
| In office 11 April 1946 – 12 October 1960 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Kyōko Asanuma |
| Constituency | Tokyo 1st (1946–1947) Tokyo 1st (1947–1960) |
| In office 21 February 1936 – 30 April 1942 | |
| Preceded by | Park Choon-Geum |
| Succeeded by | Zenjuro Watanabe |
| Constituency | Tokyo 4th (1936–1937) Tokyo 3rd (1937–1942) |
| Member of theTokyo Metropolitan Assembly | |
| In office 13 September 1943 – 10 April 1946 | |
| Constituency | Fukagawa Ward |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1898-12-27)27 December 1898 |
| Died | 12 October 1960(1960-10-12) (aged 61) Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan |
| Manner of death | Assassination (stab wound) |
| Resting place | Tama Cemetery,Tokyo |
| Political party | Socialist (1945–1951; 1955–1960) |
| Other political affiliations | FLP (1925) JLFP (1926–1928) SMP (1932–1940) IRAA (1940–1942) Independent (1942–1945) RSP (1951–1955) |
| Spouse | |
| Alma mater | Waseda University |
Inejiro Asanuma (浅沼 稲次郎,Asanuma Inejirō; 27 December 1898 – 12 October 1960) was a Japanese politician and leader of theJapan Socialist Party. DuringWorld War II, Asanuma was aligned with theImperial Rule Assistance Association and advocated forwar in Asia. Asanuma later became a forceful advocate ofsocialism inpost-war Japan. He was noted for his support of the newly establishedPeople's Republic of China (PRC) as well as the criticism ofUnited States–Japanese relations, making him a polarizing figure.
Asanuma wasassassinated with awakizashi, a traditional short sword,[1] by 17-year-oldfar-right ultranationalistOtoya Yamaguchi while speaking in a televised political debate inTokyo. His violent death was seen in graphic detail on national television by millions of Japanese, causing widespread public shock and outrage.
Asanuma was born on the island ofMiyake-jima, a remote volcanic island that is administratively part of Tokyo, on 27 December 1898. His mother died in childbirth. He was consequently raised by his father, who later died of cancer, leaving Asanuma an orphan.[2] After completing high school, Asanuma enteredWaseda University, graduating in 1923.[3] While still in college, Asanuma joined the newly formedFarmer-Labor Party and took part in various forms of leftist activism.[3][4] Among other activities, he founded the "Builders League," which studied the works of English socialists, worked for Russian famine relief, and protested against military-related research being conducted at Waseda.[5] In 1924, Asanuma left the Farmer-Labor Party after the party became divided into three different factions, and became involved in tenant organizing and theLabor-Farmer movement.[6][7]
In 1926, Asanuma was one of the main founders of theJapan Labour-Farmer Party, as part of his efforts to link urban labor movements with rural peasant's movements.[8] In 1929, Asanuma began running for Tokyo City Council, representingFukagawa ward.[5] He was elected in 1933. In 1936, Asanuma was elected to theNational Diet of Japan for the first time, as a member of the newly-formedSocial Masses Party, which merged into theImperial Rule Assistance Association in 1940. Asanuma would serve in the Diet for a total of 20 years.[3]
As a member of the Diet, Asanuma pivoted from his earlier anti-imperialist views and became a vocal supporter of Japan's "holy war" in East Asia, claiming that it was necessary to "liberate" Asia from the forces of western imperialism.[6] He even led the drive to censureSaitō Takao and expel him from the Social Masses Party following the latter's anti-war speech on the floor of the Diet in 1940.[9] Asanuma decided not to run for reelection in 1942, due to suffering a mental breakdown, despite securing a "recommendation" from the government.[10]
In the immediate aftermath of Japan's defeat inWorld War II, Asanuma was one of the founders of theJapan Socialist Party (JSP). He rose to become its secretary-general (1955–1960) and eventually, party chairman (1960).[3] As a politician, Asanuma cultivated an "everyman" image.[11] He lived modestly in public housing his entire life, and was particularly popular among ordinary laborers, small shopkeepers, and other members of theworking class.[3][12]
In contrast to his pro-war stance during World War II, in the postwar period, Asanuma spearheaded the JSP's staunch opposition to revisingArticle 9 of Japan's postwar constitution and remilitarizing Japan.[12] However, historianAndrew Gordon argues that Asanuma was consistent in his antipathy to western imperialism and a desire for Asia to chart its own course in world affairs.[12]
In 1959, Asanuma was widely criticized for an incident in which he visited thePeople's Republic of China and called theUnited States "the shared enemy of China and Japan" during a speech in front of theChinese Communist Party in Beijing.[3] When he returned from this trip, he wore aMao suit while disembarking from a plane in Japan, sparking criticism even from Socialist leaders.[2][page needed] At this time, Japan, its ally the United States, and many other countries recognized theRepublic of China as the legitimate government of China.[13] Under Asanuma's leadership, the JSP played a leading role in the massiveAnpo protests against revision of theU.S.–Japan Security Treaty in 1960, which led to the resignation of prime ministerNobusuke Kishi, angering rightists and ultranationalists who supported the treaty.[12]
On 12 October 1960, Asanuma was assassinated by 17-year-oldOtoya Yamaguchi, a right-wing ultranationalist, during a televised political debate ahead ofupcoming elections for theHouse of Representatives.[1] While Asanuma spoke from the lectern at Tokyo's Hibiya Hall, Yamaguchi rushed onstage and ran hisyoroi-dōshi, a traditionalsamurai short sword,[1] through Asanuma's ribs on the left side, fatally wounding him. Japanese public broadcasterNHK was videorecording the debate for later transmission and the tape of Asanuma's assassination was shown many times to millions of viewers.[14][15] The photograph of Asanuma's assassination won its photographerYasushi Nagao both thePulitzer Prize andWorld Press Photo of the Year.
Yamaguchi was captured at the scene of the crime, and a few weeks afterwards committedsuicide by hanging himself while in police custody.[1]
Asanuma's assassination shocked Japan's political establishment. Shortly after his death, conservative prime minister and erstwhile electoral rivalHayato Ikeda captured the mood of his fellow lawmakers when he gave a heartfelt eulogy for Asanuma on the floor of the Diet. Commemorating Asanuma as a "speech-giving everyman" (演説百姓,enzetsu hyakushō), Ikeda declared:
You made service to the people the core of your political principles. Literally running from east to west, you were constantly appealing directly to the people with unrivaled eloquence and unmatched passion.
- ’Numa truly is a speech-giving everyman
- With his soiled clothes and tattered briefcase;
- Today in this public hall,
- Tomorrow at a roadside temple in Kyoto.
This is what Asanuma’s comrades used to sing about him back in the 1920s, when they were founding theJapan Labour-Farmer Party. Even after he became Chairman [of the JSP], this “speech-making everyman” spirit never showed the least sign of flagging. Even now, we all still have vivid recollections of you giving all those speeches in every corner of this nation.[16]
According to reportage at the time, Ikeda's short speech was met with thunderous applause and left many lawmakers in tears.[11]
The Japan Socialist Party had been a union between left socialists, centrist socialists, and right socialists, who had been forced together in order to oppose the consolidation of conservative parties into theLiberal Democratic Party in 1955. Asanuma had been able to hold many of these mutually antagonistic factions together, and under Asanuma's leadership, the party had won an increasing amount of seats in the Diet in every election over the latter half of the 1950s and seemed to be gathering momentum.
Asanuma's death deprived the party of his leadership, and thrustSaburō Eda into the leadership role instead.[17] A centrist, Eda rapidly took the party in a more centrist direction, far faster than the left socialists were ready to accept.[17] This led to growing infighting within the party, and damaged its ability to present a cohesive message to the public. Over the rest of the 1960s and going forward, the number of seats the Socialists held in the Diet continued to decline until the party's extinction in 1996.[18]
Media related toInejiro Asanuma at Wikimedia Commons| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Chairman of theJapan Socialist Party 1960 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by N/A | General Secretary of theJapan Socialist Party 1955–1960 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by New post | General Secretary of theFarmer-Labour Party 1925 | Succeeded by Party banned |
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