The May 15 Incident,Wikimedia Commons.
A cadre of young ultranationalist naval officers and army cadets assassinated Prime Minister Tsuyoshi Inukai in May 1932.
Inukai Tsuyoshi’s last words to his killers were: If I could speak, you would understand.
Although sentenced to fifteen years’ imprisonment, the assassins were widely viewed as idealistic patriots. Tsuyoshi’s successor Makoto Saito was a strong proponent of military action in Manchuria.