was a Japanese

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

(

uyoku are Japanese ultranationalist far-right activists, provocateurs, and internet trolls (as ''netto-uyoku'') often organized in groups. In 1996 and 2013, the National Police Agency estimated that there were over 1,000 right-wing groups in Japan, ...

) politician who served as a member of the

House of Representatives of Japan The is the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors is the upper house. The composition of the House is established by and of the Constitution of Japan. The House of Representatives has 465 members, elected for a fo ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Akao was cofounder and first president of the

Kenkokukai The Kenkokukai (建国会/建國會, National Foundation Society) was a Japanese secret society founded by Bin Akao in April 1926. It was an anti-communist organisation, strongly influenced by the National Socialism of Motoyuki Takabatake. The p ...

and became one of the leading

ultranationalist Ultranationalism, or extreme nationalism, is an extremist form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its specific ...

s in Japan during the 1920s. Akao was elected to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

and espoused a unique type of

Japanese nationalism Japanese nationalism is a form of nationalism that asserts the belief that the Japanese people, Japanese are a monolithic nation with a single immutable culture. Over the last two centuries, it has encompassed a broad range of ideas and sentimen ...

characterized by support for the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and opposition to the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

. Akao founded and became the first president of the far-right

Greater Japan Patriotic Party The , frequently abbreviated to Aikokutō (愛国党, ''Aikokutō''), is a Japanese political party and far-right political group. It was created in 1951 by right-wing ultranationalist Bin Akao, who became the first head of the party. __NOTOC__ O ...

in 1951 and continued to adamantly champion pro-United States and

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

stances in

post-war Japan Postwar Japan is the period in Japanese history beginning with the surrender of Japan to the Allies of World War II on 2 September 1945, and lasting at least until the end of the Shōwa era in 1989. Despite the massive devastation it suffered ...

Early life

Bin Akao was born on 15 January 1899 in Higashi Ward,

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

, the son of a hardware dealer. Akao was sickly as a child and he contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

while a student at Aichi Third Junior High School. In order to aid his recovery, he was sent to manage a farm owned by his father on the island of

Miyakejima is a volcanic island in the Izu archipelago in the Philippine Sea approximately southeast of Tokyo, Japan. As with the other islands in the Izu Island group, Miyake-jima forms part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Etymology There are m ...

. While on the island, Akao became acquainted with

Inejirō Asanuma was a Japanese politician and leader of the Japan Socialist Party. During World War II, Asanuma was aligned with the Imperial Rule Assistance Association and advocated for Pacific War, war in Asia. Asanuma later became a forceful advocate of s ...

, the future chairman of the

Japan Socialist Party The was a major socialist and progressive political party in Japan which existed from 1945 to 1996. The party was the primary representative of the Japanese left and main opponent of the right-wing Liberal Democratic Party for most of its ex ...

, as well as Inejiro's distant relative Michio Asanuma, who would later become a member of Akao's Greater Japan Patriotic Party. On the farm, Akao sought to create a

utopian A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', which describes a fictional island soci ...

society by implementing a primitive form of agrarian

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

based on the ideals of the "New Village Movement" advocated by poet-philosopher

Saneatsu Mushanokōji was a Japanese novelist, playwright, poet, artist, and philosopher active during the late Taishō and Shōwa periods of Japan. Later on in life he requested that the pronunciation of his surname (as far as was concerned) be changed from the usua ...

. In particular, the produce of the farm was distributed in equal shares to all workers on the farm, regardless of class or social standing. However, Akao's neighbors on the island felt threatened by his practices, and managed to swindle the farm from him through legalistic maneuvers. Disillusioned by the failure of his experiments with communism, Akao returned to the mainland and settled in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, where he began to dabble in

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

under the influence of

Toshihiko Sakai was a Japanese socialist. He advocated opposition to the Russo-Japanese War, founded the Heiminsha and published the newspaper ''Heimin Shimbun''. He formed the Japan Socialist Party and the Japanese Communist Party, and became the first gene ...

Hitoshi Yamakawa was a Japanese socialist intellectual, activist, and theorist. He was a central figure in the early Japanese socialist movement and a co-founder of the first Japanese Communist Party in 1922. After breaking with the party a year later, he becam ...

Sakae Osugi Sakae may refer to: Places in Japan * Sakae, Chiba (Japanese: 栄町; ''sakae-machi''), a town in Chiba Prefecture * Sakae, Niigata (Japanese: 栄町; ''sakae-machi''), a town in Niigata Prefecture * Sakae, Nagano (Japanese: 栄村; ''sakae-mura'') ...

, and

Motoyuki Takabatake was a Japanese journalist and political activist who completed the first full Japanese translation of Karl Marx's ''Das Kapital''. In his youth he became a member of the small Japanese anarchist movement. During the Russian Revolution however, ...

. Akao was arrested and imprisoned for a speech critical of Japan's

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

system after being

conscripted Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

into military service. While in prison, Akao became disillusioned with the

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

movement in Japan and soon abandoned left-wing politics as a whole.

Ultranationalism

In 1926, Akao "converted" (''

tenkō is a Japanese term referring to the coerced ideological conversions of Japanese socialists and communists who, between 1925 and 1945, were induced to renounce leftist ideologies and enthusiastically embrace the Emperor-centric, capitalist, and ...

suru'') to

ultranationalism Ultranationalism, or extreme nationalism, is an extremist form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its specific i ...

while still imprisoned and began his foray into

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

Japanese politics. Thereafter, he became a vocal opponent of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and communism. That year, Akao became cofounder and president of the

(National Foundation Society), a major ultranationalist organization of the 1920s that ultimately reached a nationwide membership of around 120,000. Akao was a close associate of legal scholar

Uesugi Shinkichi was a political philosopher and legal scholar who was active in Meiji Period, Meiji, Taishō Period, Taishō, and early Shōwa period Japan. One of the founding figures of right-wing Shintō ultranationalism, he helped sow the seeds for radical ...

, who allowed him to run the Kenkokukai from his home after the withdrawal of several prominent members left the organization without the means to fund their headquarters. One consistent aspect of Akao's thought was his respect for the power of the

, having opposed the

from a nationalist perspective on the grounds that the United States was too powerful for Japan and therefore that fighting a war with it was foolhardy. In the 1942 election, Akao ran for the Tokyo 6th district seat in the

National Diet , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

as a "non-recommended candidate," meaning he was not recommended by the single national political party, the

Imperial Rule Assistance Association The , or Imperial Aid Association, was the Empire of Japan's ruling political organization during much of the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. It was created by Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe on 12 October 1940, to promote the goals ...

(IRAA). Nevertheless, Akao won the election and received the second most votes in Tokyo and the fourth most votes of anyone in Japan. Like other

candidates, Akao was forced to join the

Imperial Rule Assistance Political Association The , abbreviated to ''Yokuseikai'' or IRAPA, was the policymaking body set up within the Imperial Rule Assistance Association for the purpose of liaising between the IRAA and the National Diet, and consisted of a joint caucus of members of both ...

after winning his seat, but he was expelled from that organisation after publicly rebuking Prime Minister Tojo in June 1943.

Post-war activism

Akao was defeated for re-election in 1945, and shortly thereafter was purged by the US military occupation of Japan as a wartime leader. Akao's purge was reversed in 1951 as part of the

Reverse Course The is the name commonly given to a shift in the policies of the U.S. government and the U.S.-led Allied occupation of Japan as they sought to reform and rebuild Japan after World War II. The Reverse Course began in 1947, at a time of rising Cold ...

and he vowed to return to elected office. To this end, Akao established a new political party, the

(GJPP), which was ideologically virulently

and

pro-American Pro-Americanism (also called pro-American sentiment and Americophilia) describes support, love, or admiration for the United States, its government and economic system, its foreign policy, the American people, and/or American culture, typical ...

. As a member of this party, Akao stood for several elected positions but never won. Increasingly, he seemed less interested in winning elections and more interested in stirring up debate. His use of noise trucks and street corner speechifying was a model for later right-wing movements in Japan. In 1960, during the Anpo Protests against the US-Japan Security Treaty, Akao became convinced that Japan was on the verge of a communist revolution and sought to rally right-wing groups to engage in counter-protests. Both

Otoya Yamaguchi was a Japanese right-wing Ultranationalism (Japan), ultranationalist youth who assassinated Inejirō Asanuma, chairman of the Japan Socialist Party, on 12 October 1960. Yamaguchi rushed the stage and stabbed Asanuma with a wakizashi-like shor ...

, who assassinated

, and

Kazutaka Komori was a Japanese right-wing ultranationalist youth who attempted to assassinate Japanese journalist and magazine publisher Hōji Shimanaka in February 1961, in what became known as the Shimanaka incident. Komori sought retribution for a fictional s ...

, who perpetrated the

Shimanaka Incident The , also known as the , was a right-wing terrorist attack which took place in Japan on 1 February 1961, as well as the resulting nationwide debate that surrounded it. After Japanese author Shichirō Fukazawa published a short story in the maga ...

, were 17-year-old members of the GJPP who resigned from the party shortly before committing their violent attacks, leading many people to speculate that Akao had ordered both attacks. Akao was arrested for conspiracy to murder in the wake of the Shimanaka Incident, but was not indicted due to lack of evidence, and instead was sentenced to eight months in prison for the lesser charges of disturbing the peace and intimidation.

Later years and death

Akao continued his activism and took to flying the

American flag The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal Bar (heraldry), stripes, Variation of the field, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the Canton ( ...

and the

Union Jack The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

on his noise trucks alongside the

Hinomaru The national flag of Japan is a rectangular white banner with a red circle at its center. The flag is officially called the but is more commonly known in Japan as the . It embodies the country's sobriquet: the Land of the Rising Sun. The ...

, and strongly supported the revised Security Treaty and the U.S.-Japan alliance. Akao was a strong supporter of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, mainly for its anti-communism, and advocated close alliance between South Korea and Japan. Akao once stated that the

Liancourt Rocks The Liancourt Rocks, known in Korea as Dokdo () and in Japan as Takeshima (), are a group of islets in the Sea of Japan between the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese archipelago administered by South Korea. The Liancourt Rocks comprise two ...

should be blown up as the dispute over the islets represented an obstacle to friendship between the two countries. In 1989, following the death of emperor

Hirohito , Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...

, Akao ran for a seat in the

House of Councilors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, or ...

for a 15th time, at the age of 90. Akao died of heart failure on February 6, 1990, at the age of 91, in

Toshima is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. It is one of the eight central wards of the Tokyo Metropolitan area. Located in the northern area of Tokyo, Toshima is bordered by the wards of Nerima, Itabashi, and Kita in the north and N ...

, Tokyo.

References

External links

「平成元年の右翼……右翼の未来はあるか？」
（

1989年 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...