On this day, Dec. 27, in 1923, the son of a member of Japan’s legislature tried to assassinate then-Prince Regent Hirohito, the future emperor. Daisuke Namba fired a pistol at Hirohito’s carriage in downtown Tokyo. The bullet shattered a window but did not hit Hirohito.
The assassination attempt was largely motivated by Namba’s communist ideology.
Namba was found guilty by the Supreme Court of Japan in November 1924, and was executed a few days later.
His father was forced to resign from the Diet, Japan’s legislature, as a result of Namba’s actions. His family left the country in order to escape the disgrace brought by the shooting.
– Emily Babay
