Sekihōtai

The Sekihōtai (赤報隊, "Red Vanguard") was a group of Japanese political extremists in the Bakumatsu, the Japanese civil war in the 1860s. The term also refers to a right-wing extremist group that operated in the 1980s.

In February 2009, a group claiming to be Sekihōtai sent threatening messages to a NHK news anchor.

1860s group

The Sekihōtai had three units. Sagara Sōzō was the captain of the first unit. The captain of the Sekihōtai's second unit was the former captain of the Shinsengumi's ninth unit, Suzuki Mikisaburō (Itō Kashitarō's younger brother).

The Sekihōtai 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 the Sekihōtai were used as a scapegoat, with the government 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 the Ishin Shishi (Patriots). As for the members of third unit, many were executed due to their plundering behavior.