The Kameido incident took place in 1923 in the aftermath of the Great Kantō earthquake. The Kameido police in Tokyo arrested labor activists, in fear that they would spread disorder. Troops of the 13th Cavalry Regiment proceeded to execute the prisoners and to dispose of the bodies. Koreans were also targeted, as it was thought they were planning to overthrow the government. Across Tokyo and Yokohama it is estimated that 6000 Koreans were murdered. Joshua Hammer, writing in the Smithsonian magazine, tells us the Kanto earthquake "accelerated Japan’s drift toward militarism and war."