JAPAN Japanese politician takes own life over a missing stroke in a cartoon (1992) A cartoon published by the Asahi magazine in Tokyo, angered a Japanese politician so much that he killed himself in public. Shusuke Nomura was running for a seat in the upper house of parliament with his Wind Party, when Asahi published a cartoon with a single stroke missing from the word kaze (wind). Without that stroke, the meaning of the character changes to shira-mi, or lice, a rather undignified designation for a party. Nomura went to protest the cartoon at Asahi's headquarters. He stood up in the middle of a meeting with newspaper executives, said the traditional Japanese pre-suicide words for honor, bowed in the direction of the Imperial Palace, and shot himself with a pair of pistols. Shusuke Nomura killed himself because a cartoonist purposefully left a stroke off the left hand side of the character in red thus changing the name of his party from "Wind" to "Lice."

SUPPRESSION INCIDENTS BY COUNTRY ALGERIA Flag mockery (1996) - Artist forced to go underground (1995-96) - Cartoonist murdered (1995) ARGENTINA Cartoonist abducted, beaten, intimidated (1996) - Cartoonist murdered (1970s) BOSNIA Cartoon show blown up along with spectators (1992) CAMBODIA Prohibition of animal depiction in symbolizing politicians (1994) CHINA Cartoonist fired over his strip (1995) - Comic book sparks riots (1992) CROATIA Repressive law is basis for trial of satirical newsweekly (1996) CYPRUS Cartoonist sued and prevented from receiving awards (1989-96) EGYPT Law curtails freedom of expression (1995) ENGLAND Veteran Palestinian political cartoonist assassinated in exile (1987) INDIA Activists storm exhibition (1994) - Editor arrested over a cartoon (1987) IRAN Cartoonist gets ten years for a cartoon resembling the late Ayatollah Khomeini (1992-93) ISRAEL Palestinaian cartoonist gets it from both sides (1996) - Clinton cartoon censored (1994) - Israeli arrested (1993) - "Shoe in the mouth" cartoon causes Palestinian publisher to disappear (1973) JAPAN Politician takes own life over a missing stroke in a cartoon that changed the name of his party (1992) KUWAIT Cartoon ignites riot against a major newspaper (1996) LIBERIA First political cartoonist threatened into leaving his country (1984) MALAYSIA Kuala Lumpur newspaper pressured into apology (1995) MONGOLIA Cartoonists punished for Western connection (1988-93) RUSSIA Outrage, threats, and investigation by the Russian Parliament over a Zlatkovsky drawing (1992) SAUDI ARABIA Saudi anger sends Indian editors to jail over American comic strip (1993) SERBIA Criminal proceedings for picturing statesmen in a "degrading position" (1993) SOUTH AFRICA Stronger controls over the press (1987) SINGAPORE A threat by the prime minister (1995) TURKEY Two cartoonists arrested (1996) - One burned alive (1993) - Editor sentenced to jail term for cartoon (1990-93) - Leading political cartoonist tortured (1970) USA Oliphant censored (1993) - Szabo on a Russian spy's list (1987) - Racial sensitivity in Philadelphia (1985)