Sunday, October 27, 2002
One Hakusui Ito, a member of Japan's right-wing group Shukojuku (which translates to 'emperor's protection corps'), has confessed to the stabbing death of Japan Diet member Koki Ishii in front of Ishii's home in Tokyo. Ito was not unknown to Ishii's staff, as he paid monthly visits to the office. Ishii was a member of the opposition center-left Democratic Party (as opposed to the center-right ruling Liberal Democratic Party) who exposed numerous financial scandals over the years, and also exposed Aum Shinrikyo's activities in Russia.
The last time a Diet member was murdered was in 1960, when Inejiro Asanuma of Japan's Socialist Party (socialist in this context means, well, socialist) was stabbed by a right winger while Asanuma was giving a speech.
