A Narrow Escape

The Act. All Tokyo was on the streets to witness the passing of Crown Prince Hirohito on his way to a session at the Diet. At one point a young man broke through the police cordon, ran a few steps after the Crown Prince's automobile, and, raising a "cane-gun,"* fired at the Prince. The bullet shattered the glass in the machine but did not harm Hirohito. Viscount Tamemori Irlye, Chamberlain to the Prince Regent, was wounded slightly by the falling glass.

The Assailant. After the shot, the people broke through the police cordons amid cries of "Lynch the shooter!" The would-be assassin stood petrified with fright; the angry crowd seized him and he was severely mauled before the police could rescue him. It was later discovered that he was Diasuke Namba, aged 27, son of a minor politician. Formerly a student of Waseda University, he had been forced by circumstances to work as a laborer and had become interested in Communism. He said he had no accomplices and that he had fired the shot in the hope of starting a social revolution. The police thought he was crazy. Later, a young man who accompanied Namba was also arrested.

The Prince. Crown Prince Hirohito, who, since November, 1921, has acted as Regent on account of his father's illness, was found to have escaped death "by one inch." The Prince continued on his way as if nothing had happened. Arriving in the Upper House of the Diet, he read an address to the members of the House in a calm voice, then returned to the Imperial Palace under heavy guard. No one present at the reading of the address knew of the shooting, but after the Prince had departed and the news became known, all expressed their highest admiration for the manner in which he had conducted himself.

The Police. M. Iwase, Chief of the Metropolitan Police, resigned on account of the attack, for which he held himself responsible. It became known that Koreans had planned to take the Prince's life on his wedding day (Feb. 6). On that account he had been under heavy guard and extraordinary precautions had been taken to guard the streets.

The Cabinet. Following the attempt upon the Crown Prince's life, the Cabinet and the Prince played battledore and shuttlecock with the Government. Viscount Shunpei Goto, "Roosevelt of Japan," as Home Minister felt himself responsible for the narrowly averted disaster, and resigned. This lead to the resignation en masse of the remaining members of the Cabinet. The Crown Prince refused to accept the resignations; the Cabinet refused to reconsider its decision to resign. There the matter stood. No forecasts of the composition of the next ministry were made public. The Ministry that resigned was composed of: Premier, Count Gombei Yamamoto; Home Affairs, Viscount Shimpei Goto; Foreign Affairs, Baron Hikokichi Ijuin; Communications, G. Inukai; Education, Keijiro Okano; Justice, Kiichiro Hiranuma; Treasury, Junnosuke Inotuye; Navy, Admiral Hyo Takarabe; Army, Baron General Giichi Tanaka; Railways, Ichiji Tamanouchi.

The following two cablegrams were sent by U. S. Secretary of State Charles E. Hughes:

To the American Embassy in Tokyo: "Ambassador Woods requests you to convey to the Prince Regent his personal sense of relief on learning of the Prince's escape from the attempt on his life."

To the Tokyo Government: "The President deeply deplores the dastardly attempt made upon the life of His Imperial Highness, and desires that there be conveyed to the Prince Regent an expression of the gratification and relief with which he and the people of this country have learned that the Prince Regent has escaped uninjured."

*Cane gun--a cane with a gun concealed inside.