Inejiro Asanuma - Inejiro Asanuma

Politician. Born December 27, 1898, in Kamitsuki Village, Miyake Island, Tokyo. Graduated from Waseda University School of Politics and Economics in 1923 (Taisho 12). In February 1919, he joined the Minjin Doumeikai (Citizens' Alliance), but the association split within six months, and Asanuma founded the Kenchikusha Doumei (Constructors' Alliance) with Wada Iwao, Tadokoro Teruaki, and Miyake Shoichi, and embarked on the socialist movement. His beliefs at the time can be seen in a sentence from the association's journal, Kenchikusha (Constructors): "No more arguments or reasoning...act first." True to those words, he worked hard to organize the Japan Farmers' Union and the All-Japan Miners' Union, and soon earned the nickname "Speech Farmer." On the student front, he led the struggle against the Waseda University Military Research Group in May 1923. During this struggle he was assaulted by right-wing students, and during the Great Kanto Earthquake he was captured by the military, narrowly escaping death. In December 1925 he was appointed Secretary General of the Farmer-Labor Party, Japan's first proletarian political party, but was ordered to disband the party the same day, so he only served as Secretary General for three hours. The following year in March 1926 he became head of organization for the Labor-Farmer Party, which was founded, and at the same time led the Kizaki Village strike in Niigata Prefecture as a standing committee member of the Japan Farmers' Union. After the proletarian parties split up he became head of organization for the centrist social democratic Japan Labor-Farmer Party, and thereafter worked with Aso Hisashi until the proletarian parties were dissolved. During this time he became a member of the Tokyo City Council in 1933 (Showa 8), and a member of the House of Representatives in 1936. During the war, he declined to run in the 1942 Imperial Rule Assistance Election because he was not recommended, but was elected to the city council the following year in 1943, and served as vice-chairman. After the war, he participated in the formation of the Japan Socialist Party, became head of the organization department, and was appointed secretary-general at the third party convention in 1948 (Showa 23). When the party split in 1951, he was secretary-general of the right-wing Socialist Party, and was elected secretary-general at the unified convention in 1955, a position he held until becoming chairman in March 1960. It was during this period that he was nicknamed "Maa Maa Koji" (Maa Layman) as a party coordinator. As a member of the House of Representatives, he was elected for seven consecutive terms from 1946 until the general election of 1958. During a visit to China in March 1959, he stated that "American imperialism is the common enemy of both Japan and China," stepping away from his previous right-wing line and leading the 1960 Security Treaty protests from that position, but was stabbed to death by a right-wing teenager, Yamaguchi Otoya, while giving a speech at Hibiya Public Hall in Tokyo on October 12, 1960 (Showa 35). He was affectionately known to the people as "the human locomotive" and "Mr. Numa," and was the epitome of a populist politician.

[Shoji Arakawa]

"My Record of the Speech Struggle" by Asanuma Inejiro (1953, Shakai Shichosha)" ▽ "My Resume Volume 2" (1957, Nihon Keizai Shimbun)" ▽ "Bakushin" by the Asanuma Memorial Publication Editorial Committee (1961, Japan Socialist Party Press Bureau)" ▽ "Asanuma Inejiro: The Man and His Life" by Omagari Nao (1961, Shiseido) ▽ "History of Japanese Social Movements in a Turbulent Period: The Paths of Kagawa Toyohiko, Aso Hisashi, and Asanuma Inejiro" by Miyake Shoichi (1973, Gendai Hyoronsha)" ▽ " Documents Related to Asanuma Inejiro, held in the National Diet Library Constitutional Documents Room"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

政治家。明治31年12月27日生まれ、東京府三宅(みやけ)島神着(かみつき)村出身。1923年（大正12）早稲田(わせだ)大学政治経済学部卒業。1919年2月民人同盟会に参加するが、同会は半年余で分裂、浅沼は和田巌(いわお)、田所輝明(てるあき)、三宅正一らと建設者同盟を創立し社会主義運動に踏み出した。当時の信条は機関誌『建設者』の一文「もう議論、理屈は必要ではない……まず行動しろ」からうかがえるが、そのことばどおり日本農民組合、全日本鉱夫総連合のオルグ活動に奔走し、まもなく「演説百姓」の異名をとる。一方、学生戦線では1923年5月の早大軍事研究団反対闘争を指導した。この闘争では右翼学生の暴行を受け、また関東大震災では軍隊に捕らえられ九死に一生を得た。1925年12月日本初の無産政党農民労働党書記長に就任したが、即日解散命令のため「3時間書記長」であった。翌1926年3月創立の労働農民党では組織部長となり、同じころ日農常任委員として新潟県木崎村争議を指導した。ついで無産政党が分立するや、中間派社会民主主義の日本労農党組織部長となり、以後無産政党解散まで麻生久(あそうひさし)と行動をともにした。この間1933年（昭和8）東京市会議員、1936年衆議院議員となる。戦時下、1942年翼賛選挙では非推薦のため立候補を辞退したが、翌1943年都会議員に当選、副議長を務めた。戦後、日本社会党結成に参加、組織部長となり、1948年（昭和23）第3回党大会で書記長に就任、1951年分裂時は右派社会党書記長、1955年統一大会でも書記長に選出され、1960年3月委員長となるまでその地位にあった。党の調整役として「マアマア居士(こじ)」の異名をとったのはこの時期である。衆議院議員としては1946年以来1958年総選挙まで連続7期の当選を数えた。1959年3月中国訪問の際「アメリカ帝国主義は日中共同の敵である」と発言、従来の右派的路線から踏み出し、その立場で60年安保闘争を指導したが、1960年（昭和35）10月12日東京・日比谷公会堂で演説中、右翼の少年山口二矢(おとや)に刺殺された。「人間機関車」「沼さん」と人々から親しまれ、大衆政治家の典型であった。

［荒川章二］

『浅沼稲次郎著『わが言論闘争録』（1953・社会思潮社）』▽『『私の履歴書　第2集』（1957・日本経済新聞社）』▽『浅沼追悼出版編集委員会『驀進』（1961・日本社会党機関紙局）』▽『大曲直著『浅沼稲次郎　その人・その生涯』（1961・至誠堂）』▽『三宅正一著『激動期の日本社会運動史　賀川豊彦・麻生久・浅沼稲次郎の軌跡』（1973・現代評論社）』▽『国会図書館憲政資料室所蔵「浅沼稲次郎関係文書」』

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