Saburō Aizawa
Saburō Aizawa ( "Aizawa Saburō") (6 September 1889 – 3 July 1936) was a Japanese military officer of the Imperial Japanese Army who assassinated Tetsuzan Nagata in the Aizawa Incident in August 1935. Biography. Saburō Aizawa was born on 6 September 1889 in Sendai, the eldest son of Hyonosuke Aizawa, a former court clerk and notary of the Sendai Domain, and his wife Makiko. Aizawa attended junior high school in Iwate Prefecture before attending the regional military school of the Imperial Japanese Army in Sendai and graduating on 28 May 1910. Aizawa served in many positions and was promoted numerous  times during the 1910s and 1920s, reaching the rank of lieutenant-colonel by the early 1930s. Aizawa was a staunch supporter of the "Kōdōha" (Imperial Way), the radical militarist political faction of the Imperial Japanese Army in opposition to the moderate "Tōseiha" (Control Faction) during the "Gunbatsu" period. By mid-1935, Aizawa despised Major General Tetsuzan Nagata, the "de facto" leader of the "Tōseiha", whose ideas earned him the violent animosity as "chief villain" of the "Kōdōha". Nagata's national mobilization strategy of preparing both the military and civilian economy for total war offended the "Kōdōha", who perceived it as collusion  with corrupt party politics and the "zaibatsu". Aizawa's behavior became noticeably erratic and he was stationed in Japanese Taiwan. In July 1935, Nagata's political manoeuvres led to the forced retirement of Jinzaburō Masaki, the Inspector-General of Military Training, who was a leading member of "Kōdōha" and Aizawa's friend. Aizawa Incident. On 12 August 1935, Aizawa assassinated Nagata for reputedly putting the Army "in the paws of high finance" and in retaliation for Masaki's forced retirement, which became known as the Aizawa Incident. Aizawa entered Nagata's office in Tokyo and cut him down with his  sword, making no attempt to resist arrest by military police and reportedly said that he "was in an absolute sphere, so there was neither affirmation nor negation, neither good nor evil". Aizawa's actions increased the political polarization within the Imperial Japanese Army and the Army Minister Senjūrō Hayashi was forced to resign over the affair. Further retaliation between factions resulted in the February 26 Incident in February 1936, effectively eradicating the "Kōdōha" and granting the "Tōseiha" total influence within the army. On 3 July 1936, Aizawa was executed by firing squad after a high-profile court martial trial held  by the IJA 1st Division.