Daisuke Namba

Daisuke Namba (難波 大助, Nanba Daisuke^?, November 7, 1899 – November 15, 1924) was a Japanese student who tried to assassinate the Prince Regent Hirohito in the Toranomon Incident on December 27, 1923.

Daisuke Namba was born to a distinguished family. His grandfather was decorated by the Emperor Meiji. His father was a Member of the Imperial Diet until the act of his son forced him to resign.

Before 21 years old, Namba showed no signs of having any sympathy for the radicals and at the time, he was even thinking about becoming an officer in the army. After 1919, a series of events influenced him greatly. At school in Tokyo, he attended political lectures and demonstrated in support of the suffrage movement in 1920. As a result of his father's position, he had the chance to hear Prime Minister Hara Takashi's opposition to extending the franchise. Angry against the politicians, he became more critical of his father's role and felt that some direct action was necessary. He began reading the works of Marx and Lenin as well as leftist magazines. In April 1921, he was affected greatly by Professor Kawakami Hajime's article on Russian Revolution. He was convinced that the revolution succeeded because dedicated terrorists made sacrifices. The following month's newspaper account about the High Treason Incident increased his indignation at the government. In late 1923, angered by the brutal murders of Japanese anarchists and Koreans during the panic of the Great Kanto earthquake, he made up his mind to carry out the assassination.

In November 1924, Daisuke was found guilty at an extraordinary session of the Supreme Court of Japan. When Chief Justice Yokota of the Supreme Court condemned Namba to be hanged, Namba defiantly yelled back: "Long live the Communist Party of Japan!" He was executed by hanging two days later.

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