He attended Matsuyama Middle School, but was forced to leave without graduating due to the difficult financial situation of his family, and worked as a substitute teacher.

Shirakawa entered the Army Staff College in 1893, but was forced to leave the following year due to the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War.

Prime Minister Tanaka reported to Emperor Hirohito that the incident had been staged by rogue junior officers within the Imperial Japanese Army without orders from Tokyo and demanded that the perpetrators be punished.

While Shirakawa's role in the bombing remains uncertain, he refused to punish the perpetrators and instead transferred them to other posts to avoid a court martial.

Shirakawa issued a cease-fire order on March 3 over the strong objections of his commanders and greatly angering The Imperial Japanese Army General Staff.

However, the emperor was pleased, and the League of Nations General Assembly, which was poised to issue a strong condemnation of Japan, remained silent.

However, two months later, on April 29, 1932, he was severely injured by a bomb set by Korean independence activist Yoon Bong-gil in Shanghai's Hongkou Park and died of his injuries on May 26.