Tokyo Students Battle Police (1969)

Sat Jan 18, 1969

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On this day in 1969, around four hundred protesters who had occupied Tokyo University’s Yasuda Hall in protest of US-Japan relations battled with police, throwing rocks and gas‐filled bottles at officers on the street. The battle lasted until January 19th, and was broadcast on television, causing a national sensation.

The protest was part of a growing leftist sentiment against the US and the conservative Japanese government that led to more than 10,000 young people being arrested by the end of the year. One year after this event, more than 22 colleges were either closed or only partially open due to student unrest.