Zengakuren
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Zengakuren is a league of university student associations founded in 1948 in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. The word is an abridgement of which literally means "All-Japan Federation of Student Self-Government Associations." Notable for organizing protests and marches, Zengakuren has been involved in Japan's anti-
Red Purge The Red Purge (Japanese: レッドパージ; ''reddo pāji'') was an anticommunist movement in occupied Japan from the late 1940s to the early 1950s.: "From 1947, the Japanese government, supported by MacArthur, unleashed a Red Purge that targeted ...
movement, the anti-military base movement, the Anpo protests against the
U.S.-Japan Security Treaty The , more commonly known as the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty in English and as the or just in Japanese, is a treaty that permits the presence of U.S. military bases on Japanese soil, and commits the two nations to defend each other if one or th ...
, the 1968–1969 Japanese university protests, and the struggle against the construction of Narita Airport.


History

Zengakuren emerged in the early postwar period as students at Japanese universities established self-governing associations (''jichikai'') in order to protest against perceived fascist remnants in the university system and to organize against proposed tuition hikes. All university students were automatically enrolled in these associations, and dues were automatically deducted from their tuition. In the wake of a failed general strike in 1947, the
Japan Communist Party The is a left-wing to far-left political party in Japan. With approximately 270,000 members belonging to 18,000 branches, it is one of the largest non-governing communist parties in the world. The party advocates the establishment of a democr ...
(JCP) stepped into organize the separate university associations into a single nationwide organization. As a result of this extensive organizing effort, the formation of Zengakuren was officially announced on September 18, 1948. Teruo Takei, a
Tokyo University , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...
student and member of the Japanese Communist Party, was the organization's first chairman. Towards the end of 1948, Zengakuren comprised almost 60% of Japan's total student population. Over the course of the 1950s, Zengakuren took part in a number of "struggles" (''tōsō'') and protest movements, including the "
Bloody May Day refers to a violent conflict that took place between protesters and police officers in the Kokyo Gaien National Garden in front of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan, on May 1, 1952. When a large crowd protesting the U.S.—Japan Security Tr ...
" protests against the San Francisco Peace Treaty on May 1, 1952, the struggle against the Anti-Subversive Activities Law from 1952 to 1953, the movement against nuclear testing after the Lucky Dragon Incident of 1954, the "
Sunagawa Struggle The was a protest movement in Japan, starting in 1955 and continuing until 1957, against the expansion of the U.S. Air Force's Tachikawa Air Base into the nearby village of Sunagawa. Taking place at the peak of a growing anti-base movement, "Blo ...
" against the expansion of the United States'
Tachikawa Air Base is an airfield in the city of Tachikawa, the western part of Tokyo, Japan. Currently under the administration of the Ministry of Defense, it has also served as the civil aviation with Japan's first scheduled air service. History Origins Tach ...
in 1955–1957, the 1958 movement against the Police Duties Bill, and the massive Anpo protests against the US-Japan Security Treaty in 1959–1960. In the late 1950s, an "
anti-Stalinist The anti-Stalinist left is an umbrella term for various kinds of left-wing political movements that opposed Joseph Stalin, Stalinism and the actual system of governance Stalin implemented as leader of the Soviet Union between 1927 and 1953. Th ...
" (i.e. anti-JCP) faction within Zengakuren nicknamed "
The Bund The Bund or Waitan (, Shanghainese romanization: ''Nga3thae1'', , ) is a waterfront area and a protected historical district in central Shanghai. The area centers on a section of Zhongshan Road (East Zhongshan Road No.1) within the former Shang ...
" (''Bunto'' in Japanese) managed to secure control of Zengakuren, in part by rigging elections. Their control of the organization was strenuously opposed by the "anti-mainstream" pro-JCP faction. This began the process of numerous internal schisms within Zengakuren that would continue throughout the 1960s. Nevertheless, for the time being Zengakuren held together in order mobilize its full power to try to stop the 1960 revision of the US-Japan Security Treaty. At the apex of its organizing power during the anti-Treaty protests in 1960, Zengakuren was able to count on around 250 ''jichikai'' at 110 schools, representing a total strength of around 290,000 students. The first open splits within Zengakuren occurred in the immediate aftermath, as despondency at the failure of the anti-Treaty protests to stop the Treaty from being ratified led to numerous rounds of recriminations. Thereafter, the pro-JCP group split off from Zengakuren entirely to form a rival organization called "Zenjiren," and the remainder of Zengakuren split up into a large number of warring "sects" (''sekuto''), who would battle against each other at least as much as they battled against the police. Arming themselves with construction helmets painted in the colors of their various factions and large wooden staves they called "violence sticks" (''gebabō,'' from the German ''Gewalt''), the participated in a number of struggles throughout the 1960s and beyond, including the struggle against normalization of diplomatic relations with Korea in 1965, protests against the docking in Japan of US Navy nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers, anti-
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
protests, the university struggles of 1968-69, and the
Sanrizuka Struggle The Sanrizuka Struggle (三里塚闘争, ''Sanrizuka tōsō'') refers to a civil conflict and riots involving the Japanese government and the agricultural community of Sanrizuka, comprising organised opposition by farmers, local residents, and ...
against the construction of
Narita Airport Narita International Airport ( ja, 成田国際空港, Narita Kokusai Kūkō) , also known as Tokyo-Narita, formerly and originally known as , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Haneda Airport ...
from 1968 into the mid-1980s. Although dozens of rival sects emerged over the course of the 1960s, three major groupings occurred: # '' Minseidō'': student groups affiliated with the
Japan Communist Party The is a left-wing to far-left political party in Japan. With approximately 270,000 members belonging to 18,000 branches, it is one of the largest non-governing communist parties in the world. The party advocates the establishment of a democr ...
# ''Sanpa Zengakuren'': A "three-faction" (''sanpa'') alliance of groups critical of the JCP: the Second Bund,
Kaihō-ha The , usually abbreviated Kaihо̄-ha ("Liberation Faction"), was a Japanese radical Marxist group active in the 1960s and 1970s as part of the Japanese New Left. Kaihо̄-ha had a young workers wing and a student wing. Their student wing was call ...
, and
Chūkaku-ha Japan Revolutionary Communist League, National Committee (革命的共産主義者同盟全国委員会 ''Kakumeiteki Kyōsanshugisha Dōmei, Zenkoku Iinkai'' ?) is a Japanese far-left revolutionary group, often referred to as Chūkaku-ha (中 ...
# ''
Kakumaru-ha The Japan Revolutionary Communist League (Revolutionary Marxist Faction) ( ja, 日本革命的共産主義者同盟革命的マルクス主義派, Nihon Kakumeiteki Kyōsanshugisha Dōmei, Kakumeiteki Marukusu Shugiha) is a Japanese Trotskyist ...
'': The "Revolutionary Marxist Faction" of the
Japan Revolutionary Communist League The is a Trotskyist group in Japan. History Several small groups split from the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) following the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. They attended a congress in 1957 and agreed to unite as the JRCL. Although Japan had no h ...
, it fought murderous battles with the Sanpa groups, even as it also opposed the JCP By the end of the 1960s, there were several different factions claiming the mantle of the name "Zengakuren." Several different groups still claim this title today, and remain active, although their numbers have dwindled greatly since their heyday in the 1950s and 1960s. As of 1999, there are said to be five Zengakuren factions: *
Japan Revolutionary Communist League (Revolutionary Marxist Faction) The Japan Revolutionary Communist League (Revolutionary Marxist Faction) ( ja, 日本革命的共産主義者同盟革命的マルクス主義派, Nihon Kakumeiteki Kyōsanshugisha Dōmei, Kakumeiteki Marukusu Shugiha) is a Japanese Trotskyist r ...
*
Japanese Communist Party The is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left List of political parties in Japan, political party in Japan. With approximately 270,000 members belonging to 18,000 branches, it is one of the largest non-governing Communis ...
( Democratic Youth League of Japan) *
Revolutionary Communist League, National Committee Japan Revolutionary Communist League, National Committee (革命的共産主義者同盟全国委員会 ''Kakumeiteki Kyōsanshugisha Dōmei, Zenkoku Iinkai'' ?) is a Japanese far-left revolutionary group, often referred to as Chūkaku-ha (中 ...
* * In the late 2010s, Zengakuren (
Japanese Communist Party The is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left List of political parties in Japan, political party in Japan. With approximately 270,000 members belonging to 18,000 branches, it is one of the largest non-governing Communis ...
faction) is inactive.


Sources


Bibliography

* Andrews, William ''Dissenting Japan: A History of Japanese Radicalism and Counterculture, from 1945 to Fukushima''. London: Hurst, 2016. * Dowsey, Stuart J. ''Zengakuren: Japan's Revolutionary Students''. Berkeley: Ishi Press, 1970. * *


External links


Official website
(in Japanese)
Japanese Communist Party The is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left List of political parties in Japan, political party in Japan. With approximately 270,000 members belonging to 18,000 branches, it is one of the largest non-governing Communis ...
- Democratic Youth League of Japan faction
Official website
(in Japanese)
Japan Revolutionary Communist League (Chukakuha) Japan Revolutionary Communist League, National Committee (革命的共産主義者同盟全国委員会 ''Kakumeiteki Kyōsanshugisha Dōmei, Zenkoku Iinkai'' ?) is a Japanese far-left revolutionary group, often referred to as Chūkaku-ha (中 ...
faction
Official website
(in Japanese)
Japan Revolutionary Communist League (Revolutionary Marxist faction) The Japan Revolutionary Communist League (Revolutionary Marxist Faction) ( ja, 日本革命的共産主義者同盟革命的マルクス主義派, Nihon Kakumeiteki Kyōsanshugisha Dōmei, Kakumeiteki Marukusu Shugiha) is a Japanese Trotskyist r ...
faction
Official website
(in Japanese) 革労協現代社派 faction {{Authority control Communism in Japan Student protests in Japan Student wings of political parties in Japan Student wings of communist parties Far-left politics in Japan 1948 establishments in Japan Student organizations established in 1948 1960s in Japan 1950s in Japan