Editing Hamaguchi Osachi (section)

==Premiership (1929–1931)==
{{seealso|Hamaguchi Cabinet}}
[[File:Hamaguchi Osachi Assassination 14 Nov 1930.png|thumb|Assassination attempt on Hamaguchi Osachi inside Tokyo Station, 14 November 1930]]
After the collapse of the administration of [[Tanaka Giichi]] in June 1929, Hamaguchi was selected to become [[Prime Minister of Japan]] and formed a cabinet based largely on Minseitō party members, which supported domestic economic reforms over overseas military adventurism.<ref name=Bix>''Hirohito'', p. 208-209.</ref> With a strong sense of his own rectitude and a tough, stubborn temperament, Hamaguchi inspired trust, promising that he was "ready to die if necessary" for the good of the country during his inaugural speech and promising an administration free of corruption.

Hamaguchi's primary concern was the Japanese economy, which had been in an ever-increasing [[recession]] since the end of [[World War I]], and had been greatly weakened by the devastation caused by the [[1923 Great Kantō earthquake]]. Hamaguchi promoted retrenchment, deflation and the rationalization of industry. The 1929 [[Great Depression]], starting soon after he took office, put further pressure on the economy.

Initial public confidence and strong support from Emperor [[Hirohito]] and his entourage, including the ''[[genrō]]'' [[Saionji Kinmochi]] allowed Hamaguchi to implement fiscal austerity measures, which included ratification of the [[London Naval Treaty]] of 1930, which curtailed military spending. However, his measures to help stimulate exports, such as maintaining the Japanese [[yen]] on the [[gold standard]], proved disastrous.

The failure of Hamaguchi's economic policies played into the hands of right-wing elements, already enraged by the government's conciliatory foreign policies and Japan's increasing unemployment problems. The opposition ''[[Rikken Seiyūkai]]'' joined forces with the vocal anti-Treaty faction within the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] to accuse Hamaguchi of infringing of the military's "right of supreme command" as guaranteed under the [[Constitution of the Empire of Japan|Meiji Constitution]].<ref>Bix. Page 210</ref>

[[File:The scene of the death of Osachi Hamaguchi.jpg|thumb|The spot at Tokyo Station where Osachi Hamaguchi was shot]]
[[File:HamaguchiOsachi20130312.jpg|thumb|Plaque at Tokyo Station commemorating the shooting of Osachi Hamaguchi]]
Hamaguchi's initial popularity quickly waned, and he fell victim to an assassination attempt on 14 November 1930 when he was shot inside [[Tokyo Station]] by Tomeo Sagoya, a member of the ''Aikokusha'' ultranationalist secret society. (Nine years earlier another Prime Minister, [[Hara Takashi]], had been assassinated near the same place.) The head of the ''Aikoku-sha'' was ''Seiyūkai'' politician [[Ogawa Heikichi]].<ref>Bix. Page 211-212</ref> The wounds kept Hamaguchi hospitalized for several months.
[[File:Hamaguchi Osachi 1.jpg|thumb|Hamaguchi in diplomatic dress]]
Hamaguchi was reelected to a second term as Prime Minister of Japan in March 1931. However, with his health continuing to deteriorate, he was unable to attend the 59th Session of the Imperial Diet, which opened with Foreign Minister [[Kijūrō Shidehara]] as acting Prime Minister. The ''Seiyūkai'' immediately attacked the government on the grounds that the Prime Minister was not physically present, and that Shidehara was not even a member of the ''Minseitō''. When Shidehara further created an uproar with a comment concerning Emperor Hirohito's support of the London Naval Treaty, the ''Seiyūkai'' refused to participate in budget deliberations until Hamaguchi could attend. Despite his failing health, Hamaguchi was forced to attend the Diet, but resigned a month later to be replaced by [[Wakatsuki Reijirō]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.ndl.go.jp/modern/e/cha3/description18.html |title= 3-18 Shooting of Prime Minister HAMAGUCHI Osachi |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |year=2006 |work=Modern Japan in Archives |publisher=National Diet Library of Japan |access-date=12 January 2013}}</ref> He died on 26 August of the same year, and his grave is at the [[Aoyama Cemetery]] in Tokyo.

Tomeo Sagoya was not tried for murder. Nevertheless, in 1932, he was sentenced to death for attempted murder, after the judge ruled that the bullet had caused Osachi's death. Yoshikatsu Matsuki was sentenced to 13 years in prison as an accomplice, while Ainosuke Iwata received a 4-month sentence. However, in 1934, Sagoya's death sentence was reduced to life in prison in a general amnesty. He was one of many people involved in politically motivated murders, including that of prime ministers, to have their sentences reduced. Sagoya was released from prison in 1940, and died in 1972. He continued to be involved in far-right activities until his death.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1934-02-11 |title=Amnesty of 1934 |pages=18 |work=The Cincinnati Enquirer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-cincinnati-enquirer-amnesty-of-1934/128589297/ |access-date=2023-07-21}}</ref>

In 1931 Hamaguchi's cabinet sponsored a bill on [[women's suffrage]]. It would have granted women over the age of 25 the right to vote in local elections and stand for office given their husbands' approval. The bill passed the lower house, but it was defeated in the [[House of Peers (Japan)|House of Peers]] in March 1931 by a vote of 184 to 62.<ref>Nolte, Sharon H. [https://www.jstor.org/pss/178889  "Women's Rights and Society's Needs: Japan's 1931 Suffrage Bill,"] ''Comparative Studies in Society and History,'' October 1986, Vol. 28, No. 4, p. 690-714.</ref>