Attacks on Politicians and Other Figures in Japan Since 1945
Politics Society
A summary of attacks on politicians and other key figures in Japan during the postwar period.
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Postwar Attacks in Japan on Politicians and Other Figures
| Date | Incident |
|---|---|
| July 1960 | Prime Minister Kishi Nobusuke is stabbed in the thigh and seriously wounded by a right-wing activist outside his residence, the Kantei. |
| October 1960 | Japan Socialist Party leader Asanuma Inejirō is assassinated during a speech by a right-wing nationalist youth with a sword. |
| July 1963 | A right-wing group sets fire to the home of Minister of Construction Kōno Ichirō. |
| March 1964 | US Ambassador Edwin Reischauer is seriously injured in a knife attack by a Japanese youth outside the embassy. |
| June 1975 | Prime Minister Miki Takeo is punched in the face by a member of a right-wing group as he waits for the start of the funeral of former Prime Minister Satō Eisaku. |
| January 1990 | Nagasaki Mayor Motoshima Hitoshi is seriously injured after being shot by a member of a right-wing group. |
| February 1990 | House of Representatives lawmaker Hamada Kōichi is attacked with a metal bar by a member of an organized crime group. |
| October 1990 | House of Representatives lawmaker Niwa Hyōsuke is stabbed at a ceremony at the Moriyama Self-Defense Forces base in Nagoya, dying 12 days later. |
| March 1992 | Liberal Democratic Party Vice President Kanemaru Shin is shot at while making a speech. Bullets hit the lectern, but Kanemaru is uninjured. |
| March 1995 | National Police Agency Commissioner General Kunimatsu Takaji is shot and seriously wounded in front of his home in Arakawa, Tokyo, by a man wearing a white mask. |
| May 1995 | A parcel bomb intended for Tokyo Governor Aoshima Yukio explodes, injuring two other people. |
| October 1996 | Mayor Yanagawa Yoshirō of Mitake, Gifu Prefecture, is shot and seriously wounded at his home. |
| October 2002 | House of Representatives lawmaker Ishii Kōki is stabbed to death in front of his home by a member of a right-wing group. |
| August 2006 | Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Katō Kōichi’s home and adjoining office in Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture, are burned to the ground by a right-wing group. |
| April 2007 | Nagasaki Mayor Itō Itchō is shot fatally by a member of an organized crime group while campaigning for reelection. |
| July 2022 | Former Prime Minister Abe Shinzō is shot in the back with a shotgun while campaigning in Nara to support a candidate in the House of Councillors election. He dies of his injuries. |
(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: Police investigators at work close to the scene where former Prime Minister Abe Shinzō was shot in front of Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara. © Kyōdō.)