Michio Asanuma (浅沼 美智雄, Asanuma Michio; November 19, 1915 – 2001; also written as 浅沼 美知雄, Asanuma Michio) was a…
Michio Asanuma (浅沼 美智雄, Asanuma Michio; November 19, 1915 – 2001; also written as 浅沼 美知雄, Asanuma Michio) was a Japanese political activist and right-wing activist. He served as vice representative and supreme advisor of the Greater Japan Patriotic Groups Federation – Current Affairs Countermeasures Council (大日本愛国団体連合・時局対策協議会, Jitaikyō or Jitaitai Kyō); editor-in-chief and director of the Anti-Communist Newspaper Company; participant and supreme advisor of the Greater Japan Patriotic Party; captain and advisor of the Anti-Communist Volunteer Corps; advisor to the Student Movement Pure Alliance; caretaker of the All-Japan Patriots Friendship Association; second-generation representative of the Greater Japan Patriotic Groups Federation; advisor to the Gakunan Gijuku; advisor to the Speech Comrades Association; and representative of the Imperial Way National Federation.
Famous People from Miyake, Tokyo
Miyake, Tokyo: 2 people
Inejiro Asanuma (浅沼 稲次郎, Asanuma Inejirō; 27 December 1898 – 12 October 1960) was a Japanese politician and chairman of…
Inejiro Asanuma (浅沼 稲次郎, Asanuma Inejirō; 27 December 1898 – 12 October 1960) was a Japanese politician and chairman of the Japan Socialist Party from 23 March 1960 until his assassination the same year. 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.