ABRUPT END TO "“TEACH-IN" IN TOKYO ©
A 24-hour "teach-in" patterned on the American experiment in education was scheduled in Tokyo August 14. It began at 10:50 p.m. with the country's leading commentators, representatives of political circles and former Imperial Army officers facing an audience of some 600 persons. The subject, as in the U.S..teach-ins, was the war in Vietnam.
Prof, Yoshikazu Sakamoto of Tokyo University opened the marathon session with a 40-minute introductory presentation of the characteristics of the South Vietnam freedom fighters, American policy in Vietnam, the attitude of China, the Soviet Union and other workers states, the international import of the Vietnamese war and what Japan should do to help achieve peace,
He made four points: (1) The Vietnamese fighters are not necessarily all Communists. (2) American policy is mistaken; it is driving the Vietnamese toward Communism and inviting the "Communist nations to support" the National Front for Liberation. (3) Because of the American mistakes, North Vietnam, China and the other "Gommun= ist nations" might increase their aid to a "dangerous extent," (4) Japan, as well as the U.S. should: realize that. there is stronger public support in Vietnam for the "Viet Cong" than for the South Vietnam government.
The representative of the ruling Liberal-Democratic party defended American policy. The representatives of all the other parties attacked it, ve
The debate got hotter and hotter but still seemed well under control, Finally moderator Shunsuke Tsurumi, in charge of the first part of the program, called on a "bearded American" from the audience. His name (as published in Japanese) was Karl Ogrezbie. He was introduced as a leader of the Students for a Democratic Society.
"Upon hearing that this meeting would be held today," the press reported him as saying, "I flew to Japan from the opposite side of the earth. The atmosphere is so good that I feel I am one of your friends. I think the way the U.S. has chosen is very difficult, no matter what Ambassador Reischauer thinks. I can never forgive what the U.S. is doing in Vietnam now."
He was further quoted by the Tokyo papers as saying, "I went to Vietnam and witnessed an American burning a child to death with his cigarette lighter. I saw napalm, too. I was ashamed of myself..."
As he went on, the Liberal-Democrats became angrier and angrier. They claimed that the moderator had “schemed" it, that the speech » was unfair and that it should be stopped immediately.
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The twenty~four participating speakers began to shout at each other. The audience then joined in. A division of the house rapidly occurred pro and con.
"Trembling in excitement," the chief producer, according to the Sunday Mainichi, ordered his man to convey a message to moderator Tsurumi : If this confusion continues, we will cut the broadcast,"
The moderator intervened, stopped the bearded American and apologized. The program moved into its second part. However, moderator Nariuasu Muchaku, who. was in charge of this part, opened as fol~ lows:
"When we lost the war, the situation was settled on the Emperor'ts order. But if we must’ start war again according to the Emperor's order, will we do it? Or do those who experienced atom bombs agree with the U.S. view that the use of bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki can be justified? Or why have many of those who were labeled as war criminals by the occupation become prime ministers after being released from prison? We would like to hear about that now,"
On hearing that introduction, the management of TV Channel 12 panicked. At exactly 4:08 a.m., the show "War and Peace” went off the air and something less educational than a teach-in abruptly appeared on the nation's TV screens.