ZENGAKUREN DEMONSTRATES AGAINST SATO TOUR
October must be the month for diplomatic tours of Southeast Asia. Last year it was Lyndon Johnson's "barnstorming." Johnson was greeted by massive antiwar demonstrations in every single country he visited except South Vietnam.
This year it's Japanese Premier Eisaku Sato who is making the rounds and it looks like Sato's tour is going to be just about as helpful for Washington's public image. (Sato will visit Johnson himself in November. )
Sato left Tokyo International Airport October 8. Two thousand members of the All-Japan Student Federation -~ Zengakuren -- attacked and nearly seized the airport to demonstrate their opposition to the tour.
According to a firsthand account in the October 9 New York Times, the Zengakuren assaulted the airport from three different routes across bridges. They were opposed by 2,500 club-swinging policemen and nine armored cars.
In a three-hour battle, 407 policemen and more than 100 students were injured. One student was killed. At one point, the students seized the armored cars and forced at least six policemen to jump into the river.