When things grow tense in Japan, somebody often takes a shot at a political big shot. Five of the 18 Premiers Japan has had since World War I were assassinated; a sixth, Admiral Keisuke Okada, saved his life in the Army revolt of 1936 by hiding in a steel vault till he nearly smothered, disguising himself and mourning at his own funeral (TIME, March 9, 1936). Last week things were tense in Japan and the big shot-at was horse-toothed Baron Kiichiro Hiranuma, 75, onetime Premier and currently Vice Premier and Minister without...
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