ZENGAKUREN STUDENTS SPEARHEAD PROTEST AGAINST SUPERSONIC AIRPORT
The Sampa Rengo faction of the Zengakuren were the center of attention in Japan February 26 when they spearheaded a militant demonstration against the construction of a new airport near Tokyo large enough to accommodate supersonic military planes.
The opposition to building the airport began with protests from farmers to be dispossessed from their ancestral lands. They organized the Sanrizuka- Shibayama Joint New International Airport Opposition League and appealed for help from the Socialist and Communist parties. But when these organizations proved ineffective because of their lack of militancy, the farmers turned to the Zengakuren. They responded to the appeal, since the projected construction of the big airport obviously dovetailed with the consistent efforts of the Japanese government to remilitarize the country as an ally of American imperialism.
The demonstration of some 1,600 participants started about 3:30 p.m. after a rally at the Narita Municipal Baseball Stadium. As the crowd proceeded down its route, some 900 Zengakuren students suddenly turned in a different direction and sought to storm the Narita branch offices of the New Tokyo International Airport Corporation, the builder of the supersonic airport.
Police stationed there, met the
charge of the students and then retreated
under a shower of stones which were sup-
plied by coeds to the male students. The
students even wrested shields from the
police. Rocks smashed the windows of
the corporation's offices.
Finally the police countercharged
and drove the students down the slope.
After reforming, the students returned
the charge.
The police reported 418 officers
and 43 students injured.
During the night, the students
stayed as guests at the homes of farmers.
They intended to continue the demonstra-
tion the following day.
However, some 16,000 police were
drawn up in tight cordons around the of-
fices of the building company.
In face of this array of force,
the farmers persuaded the students not
to go ahead. They said they could not
stand to see any more students injured.
Katsuyuki Akiyama, leader of the
student demonstrators affiliated with the
militant Sampa Rengo faction of the Zen-
gakuren, bowed to the wishes of the farm-
ers. But he said, "We will come back for
a big protest rally scheduled March 9."