Memorial Held in Tokyo over Feb. 26 Incident 90 Years Ago

Tokyo, Feb. 26 (Jiji Press)–A memorial was held in Tokyo on Thursday for those who died in the so-called Feb. 26 incident, in which young military officers killed senior government officials in a failed coup attempt 90 years ago. In front of the statue built on the site where such officers of the now-defunct Imperial Japanese Army and others were executed, participants in the ceremony prayed for those murdered in the incident and the officers. Among the participants was Akitoshi Imaizumi, 76, a member of Busshinkai, an association of bereaved family members of officers involved in the incident. His father, Yoshimichi, who died in 1995 at age 80, was then a second lieutenant. Around 3 a.m. Feb. 26, 1936, his superior suddenly told him of a plan to kill senior government officials, and Yoshimichi joined the rebellion. He was later sentenced to four years in prison. In a chilly wind in Shibuya Ward around 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Imaizumi and others lit incense sticks, laid flowers and put their hands together in prayer in front of the statue. “Today, I prayed above all that the world will be peaceful,” Imaizumi said. “I think it’s important to listen to each other’s opinions and build a better society without resorting to violence.” In the 1936 incident, junior army officers led some 1,500 troops through the snow to attack the prime minister’s residence, the Tokyo police department and elsewhere, killing such political figures as Finance Minister Korekiyo Takahashi and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal Makoto Saito. They seized the Nagatacho district, but the uprising was put down without bloodshed on Feb. 29 that year. In courts-martial, 19 people were sentenced to death and many others, including Yoshimichi, were ruled guilty. The incident is said to have led to the subsequent reinforcement of military control over politics. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]