Daisuke Namba

Who was Daisuke Namba?

Daisuke Namba was a Japanese student who tried to assassinate the Prince Regent Hirohito in Toranomon Incident on December 27, 1923.

Daisuke Namba was born in a distinguished family. His grand father was decorated by the Emperor Meiji. His father, a Member of the Imperial Diet until the act of his son forced him to resign, and his married sister exiled themselves to Java, Dutch East Indies in order to escape the disgrace which Namba, by his act, had brought upon the family.

Before 21 years old, no signs show Namba had any sympathy for the radicals and at that 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 to support suffrage movement in 1920. As a result of his father's position, he had the chance to hear Prime Minister Hara Takashi's opposition against extending the vote. Angry against the politicians, he became more critical of his father's role and felt that some direct action is necessary. After this, he began reading Marx and Lenin's works and other leftist magazines. In April 1921, Professor Kawakami Hajime's article on Russian Revolution affected him. 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 murder of Japanese anarchists and Koreans during the panic of Great Kanto Earthquake, he made up his mind to execute assassination.