The Great Kanto Earthquake struck at about 11:58:32 on September 1, 1923, causing tremendous damage and loss of life. At around 3:00 p.m., there was a lot of arson by socialists and Koreans, and there was a lot of gossip. On September 5, under the cover of the Great Kanto Earthquake, the naked bodies of presumed socialists such as Kitajima Kichizou, who had been decapitated and massacred by Japanese troops, were scattered about. The Kameido Incident and Amakasu Incident, murders of labor and socialist movement leaders, also occurred amidst the chaos.
On September 3, the Kanto Martial Law Command was specially established. About 35,000 Japanese troops from all over the country had been called to the Great Kanto Earthquake. Japanese troops massacred about 10 socialists in the early hours of September 5. The Tokyo Asahi Shimbun published an article on October 11 with the headline, "Nine Socialists Stabbed to Death by Military Forces, Suspicious Incident at Kameido Station, Bodies Poured with Oil and Immediately Incinerated. On September 2, at 3:00 p.m., the government declared martial law in the city of Tokyo, and on September 5, the Security Department of the Temporary Review and Relief Bureau announced that it would do its utmost to prevent propaganda and rumors detrimental to the Japanese Empire, and that it would never use the name of the government agency in announcing the massacre. Martial law was lifted on September 15.
On September 16, Masahiko Amakasu, a captain in the Kempeitai (military police), had Osugi Sakae, his wife Noe Ito, and his six-year-old nephew Soichi Tachibana secretly strangled to death by hand. After serving a short time in prison, Masahiko Amakasu left Japan and went to Manchuria, where he worked as a special agent for the Kwantung Army and played a role in the construction of Manchukuo. He served as the president of the Manchurian Film Society and committed suicide by poisoning immediately after the war.
At noon on September 1, a violent earthquake centered on the Fuji Volcanic Zone caused unimaginable devastation in the areas east of Numazu, Gotemba, Hakone, Atami, Yokosuka, Yokohama, and Tokyo. On September 1, there were more than 114 aftershocks felt by the human body. The Kanto earthquake was estimated to be 7.9 on the Richter scale. It was the only major earthquake to hit the modernized Tokyo metropolitan area, causing widespread damage in areas ranging from southern Kanto to the Tokai region. The death toll was approximately 105,385, and the number of houses completely destroyed or burned down reached 293,387. Lifelines such as electricity, water, roads, and railroads were also severely damaged.
