The start of the March Incident of 1931 may be traced back to the autumn of 1930, with the foundation of the Sakurakai (Cherry Society) by Imperial Japanese Army Lt. Col. Kingoro Hashimoto and Capt.
This change incensed the militarist party within the Imperial Japanese Army, and several leading generals called on Hashimoto and his Sakurakai to plan a coup d'état to bring Ugaki into power.
Ultra-rightist civilian organizations led by Kanichiro Kamei and Shūmei Ōkawa fomented a commotion outside the Diet Building in Tokyo late in February 1931.
[2] The plotters again attempted to start a riot on 17 March (two days before the planned coup d'état was to take place), but again the projected 10,000 rioters failed to materialize, the leaders were arrested, and the whole affair disintegrated.
[4] This had the end result of encouraging more attempts by elements of the military to intervene in politics, and was also to taint Ugaki's bid for the office of prime minister in the future.