翻訳 64 (w)
The assassination of Asanuma Inejirо̄ refers to the murder of Asanuma Inejirо̄ (浅沼稲次郎) during a speech he made at Tokyo Metropolitan Hibiya Public Hall in Chiyoda, Tokyo by right-wing 17 year old Yamaguchi Otoya (山口二矢) on October 12, 1960.
1 Background
2 Response from the government
3 Impact on politics and business
4 Police response
5 Media coverage
Background
On October 12, with the dissolution of the House of Representatives and general election on the horizon, party leaders of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Japan Socialist Party (JSP) and Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) gave campaign speeches at an event held at Hibiya Public Hall that was hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Election Administration Commission, the Clean Election League and NHK. In order, Nishio Suehiro (Chairman of the DSP), Asanuma Inejirо̄ (Chairman of the JSP) and Ikeda Hayato (President of the LDP) were scheduled to take to the stage to address the audience of 2,500 people.
At 3pm, Asanuma stood on the stage to deliver his speech, entitled, “In support of parliamentarism,” and had barely begun when a right-wing group began jeering and handing out leaflets. Kobayashi Toshimitsu, moderator and announcer at NHK, asked the audience to show restraint, saying, “Due to the noise, I am afraid our patrons are unable to hear what is being said. Members of the newspaper media occupy most seats in the front row, and as it is too noisy for them to be able to cover this event, I ask of you to speak quietly, in order that we can resume proceedings.” His comments were met by applause and temporary cessation of the jeering.
With that, Asanuma continued his speech criticizing the LDP's election policies. “At the time of the election, they keep all the policies unpopular with citizens to themselves, so that when they win a majority...”At 3.05pm, Yamaguchi ran onto the stage and stabbed Asanuma deeply in his left side with a 33cm long wakizashi short sword [1][2], then attacked him again, with a shallow stab in the left side of Asanuma's chest. Asanuma staggered, took a few steps, then collapsed. A close aide rushed over and held him before Asanuma was taken to hospital. A private secretary looked over Asanuma's body and was relieved to see little bleeding, though in actual fact the first strike in Asanuma's left side had been over 30 centimeters deep and had severed an artery near his spine. Asanuma died quickly from severe internal bleeding, and was already dead by the time he was admitted to Hibiya Hospital at 3.40pm. According to a close aide, Asanuma died on the landing while being carried away [4].Yamaguchi was caught red-handed and arrested.
Immediately after the assassination, a number of people including Akao Satoshi (also known as Akao Bin), President of the Great Japan Patriotic Party, ran up onto the stage and protested with the moderator about the format of only three party leaders being allowed to address the audience. In addition, a man shouted, “Let the Communist Party do it too!” into the microphone. The organizers of the event lowered the curtain for an intermission. Rumors abounded that, although Asanuma was taken to hospital, his wounds were not serious [5], while various arguments arose among the organizers and political rivals, that, for example, it was unfair that Nishio and Asunuma had managed to address the audience when Ikeda had yet to do so, or that it would be unfair if Ikeda went on to address the audience when Asunuma's speech had been interrupted. Unconfirmed reports from newspaper companies that Asanuma had died reached the secretary to the Prime Minister and it was decided that the event would be canceled. A reporter from the Communist Party's newspaper Akahata presented a sound recorder to Ikeda and asked for his thoughts, although Ikeda returned to his residence without making any comment [6].
Response from the government
Comments made by the Prime Minister's Chief Secretary and the LDP Chairman for Public Relations were released as if they were made by Ikeda, even though Ikeda himself had returned to his official residence. Leaders of the LDP flocked to the Prime Minister's official residence to discuss how to deal with the situation, though on receiving information that a protest demonstration led by the General Council of Trade Unions of Japan would be marching from Hibiya to the Prime Minister's official residence, it was decided that they would move to another of Ikeda's official residences in Shinanomachi to continue discussions. Chief Cabinet Secretary Ōhira Masayoshi urged the Prime Minister to release a statement in person and swiftly dismiss whoever was in charge, though Ikeda erred on the side of caution, not wanting to do anything reckless. That evening, the Chief Cabinet Secretary released a government statement saying they would “eradicate violence” [7], and Hori Shigeru, Chairman of the General Council, held a press conference on behalf of the ruling party. The next day, after Ōhira's efforts to persuade Ikeda [8], an extraordinary cabinet meeting was called, and it was decided that Yamazaki Iwao, Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, be dismissed from his job [7]. The Public Safety Commission concluded that the police were not responsible for the incident, and as a result the Director General of the National Police Agency and the Chief of Metropolitan Police retained their positions [8].
Impact on politics and business
Before the assassination, the election had seen a complete turn around from the upheaval of the Anpo protests, with the Ikeda cabinet's economic policies such as the “income doubling plan” attracting attention, resulting in the LDP feeling secure with regards to the approaching election. The murder of Asanuma had the potential to completely change the political atmosphere. On the evening of October 12, 20,000 people gathered in protest in various parts of Tokyo calling for the Ikeda cabinet to be held accountable, even without specific orders being issued by the General Council of Trade Unions to do so, which was unusual even at the time [9]. With the Socialist Party also calling for the resignation of the Ikeda cabinet, it became the first crisis faced by the Ikeda cabinet since its inception.
When Yoshimura Katsumi, a Sankei Shimbun reporter and close friend to Ikeda, saw the moment Asanuma was stabbed on television, he feared that, should the assassination became a political issue, there would be a repeat of the turmoil seen with the Anpo protests. He visited the Ikeda residence and advised Ikeda that the extraordinary Diet session a few days later should take the form of a memorial to Asanuma, and that giving a memorial address was the best idea for Ikeda and the cabinet [10]. Ikeda took Yoshimura's advice, and in a plenary session of the House of Representatives on October 18, gave a memorial speech written by his secretary Itо̄ Masaya. It is known as a famous speech even to this day. To a certain extent, the memorial speech won over public opinion and pacified the anger of the JSP [7][11].
The Asanuma memorial speech had a great deal of significance post-war society, as it was the first opportunity for politics to take its lead from the arena of public opinion [12][7]. If the Ikeda cabinet had responded to the assassination in a heavy handed manner as had been favored by administrations up until this point, there was a possibility that the government could have collapsed [7], but instead, Ikeda's address incorporated the sense of public outcry, and it is argued that this was the first time in Japan's history that democracy had taken root [7].
On October 24, the House of Representatives was dissolved. Prime Minister Ikeda's election speech on October 31 showed a marked change from the memorial speech, taking a very aggressive stance towards the JSP [13]. At the 29th general election of the members of the House of Representatives on November 20, the LDP were victorious, winning 300 seats, incorporating those who ran as independents and then joined the LDP. The JSP lost 23 seats to arrive at a total of 145, and did not make up for the split in the JSP that resulted in the creation of the DSP. The DSP themselves lost 23 seats and won a total of 17. As the atmosphere of mourning for Asanuma faded, the JSP slid into internal disputes over structural reform.
Ishizaka Taizо̄, Chairman of Keidanren (The Federation of Economic Organizations) and Toshiba, said, “Violence can never be good. That said, this ignorant right-wing youth had long took exception to Mr Asanuma's actions with regard to the Anpo protests and so on, and I can understand the feelings behind what he did.” These remarks resulted in Ishizaka being criticized for being sympathetic towards Yamaguchi. While being an influential supporter of the LDP, Keidanren also made small contributions to the JSP. Some argued that Keidanren should suspend contributions to the JSP after the creation of the DSP, though after Chairman Ishizaka's gaffe, it was decided that they would contribute to the DSP in addition to financially supporting the JSP.
Police response
After his arrest, Yamaguchi reportedly responded in a reasonable and straightforward manner during questioning despite his young age. On the evening of November 2, in a solitary confinement cell in a Tokyo juvenile detention center, Yamaguchi made a mixture of toothpaste power and water [14] and wrote on his cell wall, “Seven lives for my country. Long live His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor,” then hung himself. Other than Yamaguchi, the Metropolitan Police also arrested Yoshimitsu Noritoshi, 32, on suspicion of extortion; Fukuda Susumu, 32, leader of the anti-communist volunteer corps, on suspicion of false entries in originals of officially authenticated deeds and extortion; and Akao Satoshi on suspicion of forcible obstruction of business. All were involved with the right-wing organization The Asian Peoples' Anti-Communist League.
The failure of bodyguards to protect Asanuma was also a big issue [15], and since that time, the philosophy of bodyguards has changed from one of inconspicuousness to being deliberately prominent and visible.
As Yamaguchi was a teenager, a movement against children being allowed access to bladed instruments began as a result of the assassination. Different blades were confiscated from children, from pencil sharpeners to higonokami (a type of folding knife used in construction), and the movement became one of the reasons for subsequent regulation on blades [16].
Media coverage
NHK sponsored the event, took part in its planning and also broadcast proceedings live on NHK Radio 1. Consequently, the entirety of the assassination was broadcast unedited to the whole country. In addition, NHK General TV, which had planned a recorded relay broadcast of the second match of the 1960 Japan Series (Taiyo Whales vs Daimai Orions at the Kawasaki Stadium) until 3.45pm, interrupted the baseball at 3.13pm with an on screen text announcement, and at 3.21pm, broadcast graphic footage from the event. At 3.43pm, after the game had finished, a special news bulletin reported the news of Asanuma's death.
Footage of the assassination was subsequently shown many times, and opinion was divided on whether it should have been broadcast. According to Sano Hirokichi, who was NHK's Executive Director of Broadcasting at the time, the decision to broadcast the video was made with an emphasis on its significance as a news event. On the same day, NHK and commercial broadcasters changed their normal programming schedules and aired special news programs. These programs condemned violence against democracy and the parliamentary system, and in strong terms called for the rejection of violence.
The assassination also affected broadcasting, accelerating a movement that had started before the assassination for the banning of violent scenes from television programs.
Nagao Yasushi, photographer for the Mainichi Shimbun, photographed Asanuma's last moments, as Asanuma's spectacles were falling from his face and Yamaguchi was poised to stab him. The photograph was distributed worldwide through United Press International, and Nagao later won the World Press Photo of the Year and became the first Japanese person to win the Pulitzer Prize [17].
The practice of recording live broadcasts via the Kinescope recording method (recording onto film with a camera trained on a video monitor showing live broadcast) was customary at the time, although NHK also preserved the original video tape recorder footage. Footage of the assassination has been used in documentaries dealing with the history of the Shо̄wa era, and scenes from minutes before the assassination were broadcast as part of a program to celebrate 30 years of broadcasting in 1983, then again in 2003, as part of a special broadcast anniversary program.
The unedited footage has been broadcast in recent years, although as Yamaguchi was a minor, media outlets have chosen to hide his name and also parts of his face.
Suzuki Kunio, founder and former representative of right-wing political group Issuikai, found out about the assassination via television news at the age of 17, the same as Yamaguchi was, and has since said it was an impetus for him to get involved with wing activities.
