The 1960 US-Japan Security Treaty Uprising and the Origins of Contemporary Japan

Volume 18 | Issue 11 | Number 3 | Article ID 5403 | May 25, 2020 The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus Japan’s Streets of Rage: The 1960 US-Japan Security Treaty Uprising and the Origins of Contemporary Japan 現代日本の原点：60年安保闘争の街頭の怒り Nick Kapur Keywords: Anpo, US-Japan Security Treaty, Kishi Nobusuke, Hagerty Incident, Kanba Abstract Michiko This excerpt from the author’s recent book Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo (Harvard University Press, 2018) describes the dramatic climax of Sixty years ago this month, in June 1960, the the massive 1960 protests in Japan against the largest and longest popular protests in Japan’s US-Japan Security Treaty (abbreviated Anpo in modern history reached a stunning climax. At Japanese), which is the treaty that continues to issue was an attempt by Japan’s US-backed allow the United States to station troops on conservative government to pass a revised Japanese soil to this day. Events described version of the US-Japan Security Treaty – the include the May 19th incident, in which pact, abbreviated as Anpo in Japanese, which Japanese prime minister Kishi Nobusuke continues to allow the United States to shocked the nation by ramming the treaty maintain military bases and troops on Japanese through the National Diet after havingsoil to this day. The 1960 treaty was a opposition lawmakers physically removed by significant improvement over the original police; the Hagerty Incident of June 10, in treaty, which had been imposed on Japan by which a car carrying US envoys was mobbed by the United States as a condition for ending the protesters, necessitating a dramatic rescue by US military occupation of Japan in 1952. For a US Marines helicopter; and the June 15 example, it added an explicit commitment that incident, in which radical student activists US troops stationed in Japan would defend forced their way into the National DietJapan if Japan were attacked, and deleted an compound, precipitating a bloody battle with odious provision in the original treaty allowing police during which a young female university US troops to be used to put down internal student was killed. Shock at these events demonstrations in Japan. However, many on accelerated a variety of transformations in US- the left in Japan, and even many conservatives, Japan relations and Japanese politics, society, chafed under the neocolonial domination of the and culture that continue to shapeUnited States and hoped to get rid of the contemporary Japan and which are described in Security Treaty entirely, in order to chart a detail in the book excerpted here. more independent course for Japan within the Cold War international system. In order to show their dismay with any treaty whatsoever, 1 18 | 11 | 3 APJ | JF these anti-treaty forces—which included leftist By the end of April 1960, the Japanese left had political parties, labor unions, studentessentially been fully mobilized. The successful organizations, a variety of civic groups, and overthrow of dictatorial leaders that month in even some conservative businesstwo other US Cold War satellite states, Turkey associations—sought to block passage of the and especially neighboring South Korea, revised treaty entirely, even though the new proved that unpopular regimes could be felled treaty was demonstrably better than the old by peaceful mass movements, further fueling one. the protests in Japan, and the April 26 united action saw a significant increase in the size of The anti-treaty movement began in the spring the protests. Then on May 1, an American U-2 of 1959, while the final details of the new treaty spy plane piloted by Francis Gary Powers was were still being negotiated, and gradually shot down over the USSR. The resultant furor ramped up over the course of 1959 and into led to the dissipation of the amiable “spirit of 1960. Meanwhile, the opposition JapanCamp David” that had prevailed between the Socialist Party used all manner of delaying United States and the USSR since the meeting tactics to try to stall passage of the treaty in between Eisenhower and Nikita Khrushchev the Japanese National Diet. By the time the the previous September, and ultimately protests climaxed in June 1960, an estimated resulted in the cancellation of the Paris Summit 30 million people—about one-third of Japan’s and Eisenhower’s planned trip to Moscow. It population at the time—participated in some came to light that several U-2 spy planes were manner in cities, villages, and towns all across based in Japan, and with tensions rising the nation. Although the 1960 Anpo protests between the free world and communist camps, ultimately failed to prevent passage of the it seemed a particularly inopportune time to be treaty, which remains in effect to this day, they entering into a military alliance with one of the did succeed in bringing down reviled prime two sides, let alone hosting a visit by minister Kishi Nobusuke (the grandfather of Eisenhower himself. Japan’s present prime minister Abe Shinzō), as well as preventing a planned visit to Japan by Meanwhile Prime Minister Kishi began quietly US president Dwight D. Eisenhower. The laying plans of his own. Having been repeatedly ambiguous outcome of these protests, and the rebuffed in his efforts to bring the treaty to a revolutionary and counter-revolutionaryvote on the floor of the Diet, in no small part reactions they engendered, hold manybecause of the uncooperative stance taken by resonances with later protest movements such disgruntled factions within his own party, Kishi as the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in decided that more desperate measures would China and recent protest movements in Hong be needed. On April 14, he established a top- Kong and the United States. secret “Anpo Ratification Special Measures Committee” (Anpo Shōnin Tokubetsu Taisaku My recent book Japan at the Crossroads: Iinkai) within his own faction, rather aptly Conflict and Compromise after Anpo (Harvard nicknamed the “Anpo Kamikaze Squad” (Anpo University Press, 2018) , charts the wide- Tokkōtai), to map out a strategy for forcing the ranging impact of these massive protests on treaty through the Diet at any cost. Although US-Japan relations, Japanese domestic politics, debate continued for more than a month, from and Japanese society, literature, and the arts. this point onward Kishi had clearly already The following excerpt, from the book’sgiven up on the debate and was committed to introduction, describes the dramatic climax of taking “special measures” to ram the treaty the protests in June 1960. through before the end of the current session.1 2 18 | 11 | 3 APJ | JF With the Diet session scheduled to end on May members raising their hands to vote their 26 and Eisenhower scheduled to arrive in Japan approval, and then swung dramatically to the on June 19 for a visit commemorating the one right to show that all the seats in the other half hundredth anniversary of US-Japan friendship of the chamber, where the opposition parties (1960 being the one hundredth anniversary of normally sat, were empty. the first Japanese embassy to America), Kishi put his plans into action on May 19, 1960, Everyone had been expecting Kishi to try to exactly one month before Eisenhower was extend the Diet session, but few people, even scheduled to arrive. That morning, in a sudden within his own party, had realized that he was “sneak attack” that the leftist intellectual also planning to ratify the treaty at the same Hidaka Rokurō would later compare without time. This was a crafty maneuver because irony to the devastating Japanese attack on under Diet rules at the time, any treaty passed Pearl Harbor in 1941, the LDP suddenly moved by the lower house would automatically be to extend the Diet session for fifty days.2 approved after thirty days, even without action by the upper house, as long as the Diet In response, Socialist Diet members and their remained in session during that time. By burly, recently hired “secretaries” launched a passing the treaty through the lower house on sit-in in the hallways to prevent Speaker of the May 20, Kishi ensured that the treaty would Lower House Kiyose Ichirō from reaching the automatically be ratified at midnight on June rostrum to call for a vote. Barricaded in his 19, just in time for Eisenhower’s arrival in office for several hours, Kiyose repeatedly Japan later that day. appealed to the Socialists over the Diet building loudspeaker system to cease their This so-called May 19 incident sparked an disorderly behavior. At 11:00 p.m., Kiyose took intense nationwide uproar, as many people who the drastic measure of summoning 500 police had previously had no interest in the treaty officers into the Diet building. In front of the issue or even favored treaty revision felt deep eyes of a stunned nation watching a live feed outrage at Kishi’s “undemocratic” actions. on NHK television, the police physicallyImmense street protests became almost a daily removed each struggling Socialist Diet member occurrence in Japanese cities, and the from the building, one by one. It was only the movement quickly swelled to include a variety second time police had ever entered the Diet of unaffiliated actors and spontaneous actions. chambers, and the first and only time they ever Support for the protests was running so high physically removed Diet members.3 that the Sōhyō labor federation was able to organize three massive, nationwide general Finally, at 11:48 p.m. Kiyose, with thestrikes of unprecedented size on June 4, 15, assistance of the police, was able to battle his and 22. way through the melee to the lower house rostrum and gavel for a vote, upon which the A defining characteristic of the protests after Diet session extension was immediately passed May 19 was that they had become less of an by those LDP members present.

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