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Saburō Aizawa

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Japanese military officer of the Imperial Japanese Army
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Saburo Aizawa
Native name相沢 三郎
Born(1889-09-06)September 6, 1889
Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Empire of Japan
DiedJuly 3, 1936(1936-07-03) (aged 46)
Yoyogi, Tokyo, Empire of Japan
Cause of deathExecution by firing squad
Allegiance Empire of Japan
Service / branch Imperial Japanese Army
Years of service1910–1935
Rank Lieutenant Colonel

Saburō Aizawa (Japanese: 相沢 三郎 Aizawa Saburō) (6 September 1889 – 3 July 1936) was a Japanese military officer of the Imperial Japanese Army who assassinated Tetsuzan Nagata in the Aizawa Incident in August 1935. Aizawa was later court-martialed and executed for this murder.

Biography

Saburō Aizawa was born on 6 September 1889 in Sendai, the eldest son of Hyonosuke Aizawa, a former court clerk and notary of the Sendai Domain, and his wife Makiko. Aizawa attended junior high school in Iwate Prefecture before attending the regional military school of the Imperial Japanese Army in Sendai and graduating on 28 May 1910. Aizawa served in many positions and was promoted numerous times during the 1910s and 1920s, reaching the rank of lieutenant-colonel by the early 1930s.

Aizawa was a staunch supporter of the Kōdōha (Imperial Way), the radical militarist political faction of the Imperial Japanese Army in opposition to the moderate Tōseiha (Control Faction) during the Gunbatsu period. By mid-1935, Aizawa despised Major General Tetsuzan Nagata, the de facto leader of the Tōseiha, whose ideas earned him the violent animosity as "chief villain" of the Kōdōha. Nagata's national mobilization strategy of preparing both the military and civilian economy for total war offended the Kōdōha, who perceived it as collusion with corrupt party politics and the zaibatsu. Aizawa's behavior became noticeably erratic and he was stationed in Japanese Taiwan. In July 1935, Nagata's political manoeuvres led to the forced retirement of Jinzaburō Masaki, the Inspector-General of Military Training, who was a leading member of Kōdōha and Aizawa's friend.

Aizawa Incident

Main article: Military Academy Incident

On 12 August 1935, Aizawa assassinated Nagata for reputedly putting the Army "in the paws of high finance" and in retaliation for Masaki's forced retirement, which became known as the Aizawa Incident. Aizawa entered Nagata's office in Tokyo and cut him down with his sword, making no attempt to resist arrest by military police and reportedly said that he "was in an absolute sphere, so there was neither affirmation nor negation, neither good nor evil". Aizawa's actions increased the political polarization within the Imperial Japanese Army and the Army Minister Senjūrō Hayashi was forced to resign over the affair. Further retaliation between factions resulted in the February 26 Incident in February 1936, effectively eradicating the Kōdōha and granting the Tōseiha total influence within the army. On 3 July 1936, Aizawa was executed by firing squad after a high-profile court martial trial held by the IJA 1st Division.

See also

Notes

  1. Schoppa, R. Keith: East Asia: Identities and Change in the Modern World, Page 248. Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008.
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