Many Assassination Attempts Targeted Him

Next one in the list of facts about Emperor Hirohito is that he survived from many assassination attempts. At least three assassination attempts were made against the man who would rule Japan for the longest periods of time in the 1920s and 1930s. The initial one took place on December 27, 1923. The window of the then-Prince Regent's carriage was broken when Daisuke Nanba fired a pistol at it. Although his chamberlain was hurt, Hirohito was uninjured. A communist activist and Diet member's son, Nambu was incensed by the killings of Koreans and Japanese anarchists committed during the Great Kanto Earthquake's panic. The 24-year-old was labeled mad in front of the public despite his claims that he acted logically. He shouted, "Long live the Communist Party of Japan," as he was put to death.

In 1926, the death penalty was also imposed on lovers Pak Yol and Fumiko Kaneko for allegedly plotting to use explosives to kill Emperor Taisho and his son at the latter's wedding to Princess Nagako. Their sentences were changed by an imperial pardon to life in prison. After rejecting the emperor's gratitude, Kaneko committed himself a few months later. Five years after his release, Pak was taken prisoner by the North Korean military. Lee Bong-Chang, a member of the Korean Patriotic Legion, made Hirohito's third assassination attempt in 1932. As the emperor left the Imperial Palace through Sakuradamon Gate, he threw a hand grenade at his horse-drawn chariot. He was put to death in Ichigaya Prison that year even though he missed the target.