Asanuma, Inejirō, 1898-1960

Inejiro Asanuma (浅沼 稲次郎, Asanuma Inejirō; 27 December 1898 – 12 October 1960) was a Japanese politician and leader of the Japan Socialist Party. Known for his large stature and powerful voice, he tirelessly toured the country delivering speeches, earning him the nicknames "speech-making everyman" (enzetsu hyakushō), "human locomotive" (ningen kikan-sha), and the affectionate "Numa-san". In the prewar years, Asanuma was a forceful advocate of socialist policies and tenant and farmer rights. During World War II, Asanuma aligned himself with the Imperial Rule Assistance Association and supported Japan's war in Asia. In the postwar period, Asanuma resumed forceful advocacy of socialism and sharply criticized the U.S.–Japan alliance. During visits to China in 1957 and 1959, he publicly expressed deep remorse for Japan's wartime invasion and aggression against the Chinese people and declared that "American imperialism is the common enemy of the peoples of Japan and China". These positions made him a highly polarizing figure in Japan. Despite his leftist politics, Asanuma was known for his personal reverence for the emperor, maintaining a kamidana in his modest apartment and performing daily rituals there. He lived simply in public housing for decades and was popular among working-class voters for his approachable "everyman" style. In 1960, Asanuma was assassinated with a wakizashi, a traditional short sword, by 17-year-old far-right ultranationalist Otoya Yamaguchi while speaking in a televised political debate in Tokyo. His violent death was seen in graphic detail on national television by millions of Japanese, causing widespread public shock and outrage.