protesting the call of the U.S. nuclear submarine Seadragon, was indicative of the deepening bitterness of the Japanese people over the escalation of the war in Vietnam and the increasing trend ‘toward united action in registering that feeling. be
The demonstration began with a mass , meeting in Rinkai Park. The speakers included Kozo Sasaki, chairman of the Socialist party; Sanzo Nosaka, chairman of the Communist party, and Akira Iwai, secretary general of Sohyo, the powerful trade-union federation.
Following the meeting, the crowd marched. three kilometers: to the docks. The estimated 12,000 idemonstrators were met by large contingents of riot ‘police, guarding the U. Se tuclear pigboat. co
Suddenly some 900 students broke. loose from the tail of the demonstration and charged the file of police. They clashed three times and were thrown back each time.
A student “leader ‘was reported: ‘to have shouted: "Get rocks because we cannot beat police with: ‘bare hands.
‘The students then pulled back to the other side of the. street where they picked up bottles, rocks, and pieces of lumber. They hurled the missiles at the advancing line of police.
During the scuffle, the students set fire to a police van, smashed windows of a-number of automobiles, broke. window panes and caved in some doors of houses on _ the street.
Calmness returned only after the students disbanded about two hours after the skirmishing opened.
According to the police, 7 students, 5 reporters and 267 police were injured.