Ritsu Ito

Politician. Born in Toki Village, Gifu Prefecture (present-day Mizunami City). Entered First Senior High School in 1930 (Showa 5), ​​joined the Communist Youth League in 1932, joined the Japanese Communist Party the following year, was arrested the same year, and released on bail after a year and a half. In 1939, he joined the Tokyo branch of the South Manchuria Railway, where he became acquainted with Ozaki Hidemi. He was arrested again the same year, and made statements about the party reconstruction group's activities, and also leaked information to the Special Higher Police that would become a clue to the discovery of the Sorge Incident. Released in August 1945, just after Japan's defeat in the war, he rejoined the party soon after, and in 1946 (Showa 21) became a Central Committee member and a member of the Politburo. This was an unusual promotion, as he was highly valued by Tokuda Kyuichi. After the party executives were purged from public office in 1950, he went underground and led the mainstream faction, but in the autumn of 1951, he secretly left the country for China. He was subsequently interrogated by the Beijing Agency in China about his pre- and post-war actions, and was expelled from the party as a spy in 1953. His whereabouts were unknown thereafter, making him one of the mysteries of modern history, but in August 1980 it was revealed that he had been detained by Chinese authorities, and he returned to China the following September for the first time in 29 years.

[Shoji Arakawa]

"The Testimony of Ito Ritsu, by Kawaguchi Nobuyuki and Yamamoto Hiroshi (1981, Asahi Shimbun)" ▽ "The Japanese Communist Party in Postwar History: Historical Truth and the Ito Ritsu Problem" (1981, Publishing Bureau of the Central Committee of the Japanese Communist Party) ▽ "Memoirs of Ito Ritsu: 27 Years of Imprisonment in Beijing, by Ito Ritsu (1993, Bungeishunju)" ▽ "Living Judas, by Ozaki Hideki (Kadokawa Bunko)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

政治家。岐阜県土岐(とき)村（現瑞浪(みずなみ)市）に生まれる。1930年（昭和5）第一高等学校入学、1932年共産青年同盟に加盟し、翌年日本共産党入党、同年検挙され1年半で保釈となる。その後1939年満鉄東京支社に入社、尾崎秀実(ほつみ)の知遇を得る。同年再検挙され、党再建グループの運動につき供述、またゾルゲ事件発覚の糸口となる情報を特高に漏らした。敗戦直後の1945年8月出獄、まもなく再入党し、1946年（昭和21）には中央委員、政治局員となる。徳田球一に重用されての異例の抜擢(ばってき)であった。1950年、党幹部の公職追放後、地下活動に入り主流派を指導するが、1951年秋、中国へ密出国。その後中国内の「北京(ペキン)機関」で戦前・戦後の行為につき査問され、1953年に、スパイとして党から除名処分を受けた。以後消息不明となり現代史の謎(なぞ)とされたが、1980年8月中国当局に拘禁されていたことが明らかにされ、翌9月、29年ぶりに帰国した。

［荒川章二］

『川口信行・山本博著『伊藤律の証言』（1981・朝日新聞社）』▽『『戦後史における日本共産党――歴史の真実と伊藤律問題』（1981・日本共産党中央委員会出版局）』▽『伊藤律著『伊藤律回想録――北京幽閉二七年』（1993・文芸春秋）』▽『尾崎秀樹著『生きているユダ』（角川文庫）』

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