1919 New York Times article on attempted assassination of Governor-General Saito

In 1919, the Japanese people and many in government responded to the massive independence rallies in Korea (the March 1st Movement, Samil Undong) with shock and amazement. Many had believed the propaganda that the Koreans were happy as Japanese subjects. 

Imperial Navy Admiral Saitō Makoto [斎藤 実] had been chosen to lead a new administration in Korea that would no longer be under the control of the harsher Imperial Army. Though there was still considerable oppression, Saitō engineered and oversaw a period of relative openness. 

When Saitō first arrived in 1919, however, independence-minded Koreans had every reason to expect more of the same, and even relative openness meant little if Koreans were not in control of their own country. Extremists saw any Japanese government or military figure as a fair target, including Saitō, who among most Japanese figures of his day arguably had good intentions for the general public of Korea. 

With a hat tip to Gerry Bevers, here's a link to the contemporary NYT story about the assassination attempt. (Oh, how I love archives.)