Assassination attempts on Hirohito

During the 1920s and '30s, there were three known assassination attempts on Hirohito, the Emperor of Japan.^[1] The assailants were all either Korean or Japanese. Assassination attempts on Hirohito took place throughout his reign as prince regent, and Emperor of Japan. All of their attempts failed. All four would-be assassins were sentenced to death, though one was granted amnesty and eventually released, and one committed suicide in prison.

Hirohito circa 1935.

In 1923, Daisuke Namba attempted to assassinate Hirohito.^[2] Fumiko Kaneko and Pak Yeol both plotted to assassinate the emperor in 1925.^[3] Lee Bong-chang attempted to assassinate the Emperor in 1932,^[4][5] in what became known as the Sakuradamon Incident.

See also

• Japanese dissidence during the Shōwa period
• Japanese Resistance to the Imperial House of Japan
• Assassination attempts on Adolf Hitler

References

1. Hernon, Matthew (2021-05-15). "TW's List of 7: Notorious Assassination Plots in Japan". Tokyo Weekender. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
2. Ben-Ami Shillony (2008). The Emperors of Modern Japan. BRILL. p. 141.
3. Masako Gavin, Ben Middleton (Aug 21, 2013). Japan and the High Treason Incident. Routledge.
4. "Ceremony to commemorate the 78th anniversary of the death of Patriotic Martyr Lee Bong Chang". Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. 2010-01-27.
5. "이봉창" (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-06-16.

Further reading

• Kaneko Fumiko, Jean Inglis (Jan 1, 1997). The Prison Memoirs of a Japanese Woman. M.E. Sharpe.

External links

• "CROWD STORMS HOMES OF TWO JAP MINISTERS TENSE FEELING FOLLOWS ATTEMPT ON LIFE OF PRINCE REGENT". Reading Eagle. Dec 28, 1923.
• "JAPANESE REGENT FIRED AT. SOCIALIST ASSAILANT ARRESTED. GOVERNMENT RESIGNED". Observer. 5 January 1924.
• "Family of Assailant Forgiven by Prince". The Milwaukee Journal. Jul 14, 1926. Archived from the original on May 6, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
• "Prince's Escape". The Week. 4 January 1924.
• "SENTENCED THEMSELVES TO LIVING DEATH FOR SON'S CRIME! Noble Japanese Family Expiates Attack on Emperor Hirohito. Father Commits Honorable Harakiri = Other Members Undergo Terrible Self - Imprisonment = Barbaric Custom in Modern Japan". Mirror. 12 February 1927.
• ""BANZAI SOVIET" Would-be Assassin Sentenced SCENE IN COURT ("Sun" Special)". The Newcastle Sun. 15 November 1924.
• "Defiant on Gallows". The Richmond River Express and Casino Kyogle Advertiser. 24 November 1924.
• "ONE MUST KNOW JAPAN - By Frank H. Hedges". Sydney Mail. 8 June 1938.