- Sekihotai
The nihongo|Sekihotai|赤報隊|Sekihōtai| was a group of Japanese political extremists in the
Bakumatsu , the Japanese civil war in the 1860s. The term also refers to the 1980s group.1860s group
The Sekihoutai had three units and Sagara Souzou was the captain of the first unit. The captain of the Sekihoutai's second unit was the former captain of the
Shinsengumi 's ninth unit,Suzuki Mikisaburo (Ito Kashitaro 's younger brother.) The Sekihotai traveled the countryside spreading news about the upcoming change of regime. The Meiji government had made promises such as tax cuts that could not be kept, so they blamed it on the Sekihotai, calling them a "false army". While Sagara and members of the first unit were arrested and sentenced to death, Suzuki and the second unit continued to serve theIshin Shishi (Patriots). As for the members of third unit, many were executed due to their plundering behavior.1980s group
Recently, the name Sekihotai refers to a 1980s political group of a similarly extreme, though less military, bent. The full name of the group was Nippon Minzoku Dokuritsu Giyugun Betsudo Sekihotai, which translates roughly as Blood Revenge Division of the People's Partisan Corps Working for the Independence of the Japanese Race. This group was responsible for the death of a reporter as well as several threats against the lives of former prime minister
Yasuhiro Nakasone and prime ministerNoboru Takeshita , citing as cause the changes made to textbooks aboutWorld War II . The actions of the Sekihotai have been listed as evidence that the Japanese political right-wing extremists are becoming more violent.The case was named Metropolitan Designated Case 116. The
statute of limitations on the crimes ran out in March 2003, but supralegal investigation continues still now.ekihotai in Fiction
*In the
anime Rurouni Kenshin ,Sagara Sanosuke was once a member of the first unit, and repeatedly makes mention of "Captain Sagara"; a reference to Sagara Souzou.External links
*ja icon [http://www.alpha-net.ne.jp/users2/knight9/sekihoutai.htm Website about 1980s crime]
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