Japanese communist activist (1902–1923)
Yoshitora Kawai |
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Born | 18 July 1902
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Died | 4 September 1923 |
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Yoshitora Kawai (1902–1923) was a Japanese communist activist involved with many Tokyo-based political groups.
He attended Honzan hospital's nurse training school, but moved to Tokyo's Kameido district in September 1920 after being exposed to socialism from a professor, Oka Sensei. He was a member of Gyōminkai (Enlightened People's Society), a communist study group, and joined the Nankatsu Labor Union alongside Tanno Setsu. In March 1923, Kawai created the Tokyo Communist Youth League, the first instance of a group openly labeling themselves as Communists.[1] During the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, Kawai was reported as having rescued three children who had been trapped under a collapsed house.[2] Amidst the chaos of the earthquake's aftermath, he was captured on 2 September 1923, and a few days later, was killed by police in prison during the Kameido Incident.[1][3]
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