Inejiro Asanuma Assassinated (1960)

Wed Oct 12, 1960

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Image: Yasushi Nagao’s Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of Yamaguchi attempting to stab Asanuma for a second time [Wikipedia]

On this day in 1960, Inejiro Asanuma, the prominent leader of the Japan Socialist Party, was assassinated by a 17-year old, right-wing nationalist during a televised debate. His assassin later killed himself in police custody.

Asanuma had been a forceful advocate of socialism in post-war Japan. He was noted for his support of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and controversial criticism of U.S.-Japanese relations, calling the United States “the shared enemy of China and Japan”.

On October 12th, 160, Asanuma was assassinated by 17-year-old ultranationalist Otoya Yamaguchi 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 yoroi-dōshi (a traditional samurai sword) through Asanuma’s ribs on the left side, killing him. Yamaguchi was later apprehended, but killed himself in police custody.