in at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Two months later, in the May 15 Incident, of 1932, Japanese naval officers, including some associated with the League of Blood, assassinated Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi. Aftermath The phrase "League of Blood" is actually something of a misnomer. It referred to an oath of loyalty taken by a handful of the conspirators, but there is no evidence that it was a "blood oath" in any technical sense. The term , however, appeared in the popular press during the group's trial and was adopted by the lead prosecutor. Historically, the most important consequences of the League of Blood Incident sprang from the trial, which gave Inoue and his co-defendants a platform from which to broadcast their ultra-nationalist views. Many in the Japanese public came to sympathize with the aims of the conspirators, if not their methods. Following the trial it became harder for courts to deal harshly with terrorists who claimed to be acting in the interests of the Emperor. In a more general sense the trial and its aftermath contributed to the erosion of the rule of law in 1930s Japan. Sentenced to life imprisonment in 1934, Inoue was released under a general amnesty in 1940, and died in 1967. This incident inspired the central plot of Yukio Mishima's novel Runaway Horses. References Large S.S. (2001). Nationalist Extremism in Early Showa Japan: Inoue Nissho and the 'Blood-Pledge Corps Incident, 1932. Modern Asian Studies 35(3): 553-564. Empire of Japan Assassination campaigns Assassinations in Japan 1932 in Japan Shōwa Restoration Terrorist incidents in the 1930s 1932 crimes in Japan