Zhang Zuolin assassination incident

This was the incident in which Zhang Zuolin, a Republic of China Army and Navy Generalissimo, was assassinated by a bomb plotted by Colonel Kawamoto Daisaku, a senior staff officer of the Kwantung Army. As the National Revolutionary Army's Northern Expedition approached Beijing in 1928 (Showa 3), Zhang left Beijing on a special train on the Jingfeng line on June 3rd and headed for Fengtian (now Shenyang). The Kwantung Army took this opportunity to force Zhang to resign and plot to make Manchuria (the three eastern provinces) independent from China, and prepared to march towards Jinzhou, but Prime Minister Tanaka Giichi did not approve the use of force. Kawamoto therefore blew up Zhang's train near Fengtian in the early morning of the 4th, hoping to get a pretext for his march. Zhang died in the explosion, but the Kwantung Army did not march due to insufficient prior discussions. The truth was kept secret from the Japanese people, but it aroused suspicion as a serious incident in Manchuria and led to the downfall of the Tanaka Cabinet.

[Keiichi Eguchi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中華民国陸海軍大元帥張作霖が、関東軍高級参謀河本大作(こうもとだいさく)大佐の謀略により爆殺された事件。1928年（昭和3）国民革命軍の北伐が北京(ペキン)に迫ったため、張は6月3日京奉(けいほう)線の特別列車で北京を退去し、奉天(ほうてん)（現瀋陽(しんよう)）に向かった。関東軍は、この機会に張を下野させ、満州（東三省）を中国から独立させようと謀り、錦州(きんしゅう)方面に出動する態勢をとったが、田中義一(ぎいち)首相は武力行使を承認しなかった。このため河本は出動の口実を得ようと、4日早朝、奉天近郊で張の列車を爆破した。張は爆死したが、関東軍は事前の打合せが不十分で出動しなかった。真相は日本国民に秘匿されたが、満州某重大事件として疑惑をよび、田中内閣の倒壊を招いた。

［江口圭一］

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