The Long-Term Effects of Political Socialization During Late-1960s Student Protest

Abstract

In the late 1960s radical and violent political protests by youth occurred on most universities in Japan. This time period is often referred to as the age of confrontational politics (Kurita 1987, 1989, 1993, 1994a; Ohno 1990). The focus of student protest was anti-Vietnam War and anti-Anpo (opposition to the Japan–US Security Treaty). Protests were mounted by students in many places. For instance in January 1968 over the presence of the US Navy in Sasebo naval port, from May 1968 in the campus conflict and mass bargaining at Nihon University, and in January 1969 with the occupation of Yasuda Memorial Hall of Tokyo University, in which students demanded democratization of the university. The umbrella student protest organization known as the All-Campus Joint Struggle Committee (abbreviated in Japanese as Zenkyoutou) was a loosely structured coalition consisting of a variety of new left political sects (Kurata 1978; Nakajima 1968; Takagi 1985).