The Thought and Behavior of Zengakuren: Trends in the Japanese Student Movement

Abstract

A decade ago it would have been sufficient to describe the Japanese student movement by discussing the ways in which it differed from student movements in Western countries. At that time, the Japanese student organization, Zengakuren, was unique in being a militant movement based on a Marxist-oriented ideology. But today, the rise of student radicalism seems to have become an international phenomenon, particularly evident in the developed countries, and the resemblance between the milieu -and tactics of the and those of Western movements is striking. Therefore, -after discussing first the characteristics and problems of the Zengakuren, I shall move on to analyze current trends in the movement which appear to be shared by student radicalism elsewhere. While Japanese society is basically a highly developed, industrial one, a residue of feudalism remains in the social system as well -as in the attitudes of the people. And it is natural that the student movement, as a reaction to this society, is inclined to reflect the character of the very thing against which it rebels. Thus, the complexity of the current student movement in Japan is displayed in an ideological ~and organizational rigidity resulting from a Marxist tradition, on the one hand, and in the new left-type radical trends that make for the dynamism of the movement, on the other. This two-way pull indicates that the movement is undergoing a process of transformation in accordance with the rapid changes being wrought within Japanese society 'in general. The term Zengakuren has generally been accepted as a synonym for the Japanese student movement and its radicals. In fact, however, Zengakuren is the Japanese acronym of Zennihon Gakusei Jichikai Sorengo, which is translated literally as the National Federation of Student SelfGovernment Associations. Most university campuses in Japan have highly organized student self-government associations, usually in each school or department. Membership in them is compulsory. Zengakuren, the national organization, comprises the maj ority of these local -associations. One would expect, then, that would represent the maj ority of university students in Japan. But the fact is that it actually represents only a relatively small number of activists belonging to various student political groups. (In this it is similar to the movements in other countries.) The