All Japan Student Federation - Zengakuren

Japanese: 全学連 - ぜんがくれん

Abbreviation for All Japan Student Self-Government Associations. After the Second World War, the student movement in Japan was revived with the campus democratization struggle (1945-46) and developed into a mass student self-government movement. In September 1948 (Showa 23), Zengakuren was formed by 145 universities across the country, and although it has since repeatedly split into factions, it has organized a wide range of diverse movements with its political and social status that is indispensable to Japan's anti-establishment and reformist movements. However, since the 1960s, it has been torn apart and has been carried on by multiple Zengakuren organizations to this day, and it no longer has the power it once had.

[Nitagai Kamon]

The early Zengakuren

Since its formation, Zengakuren has played a part in historical struggles such as the May 24th General Strike, the anti-Red Purge struggle, opposition to the Korean War, and the movement for total peace. From this period until the so-called 6th National Conference of the Japanese Communist Party (the 6th National Conference of the Japanese Communist Party in July 1955), it was under the strong influence of the Japanese Communist Party. The Communist Party regarded the student movement as a democratic movement by the petty bourgeoisie in its essence, and positioned it as a part of the "national democratic united front." However, in the specific activities of the Communist Party, as seen in the "Molotov cocktail struggle" from 1952 to 1953 and the leadership of the mountain village work corps, it led the advanced elements of students to far-left radical actions, creating a gap between them and the mass students. From this point on, the Communist Party's response to the student movement suddenly changed, emphasizing "everyday struggles" that were closely related to the daily demands of students, and this line culminated in the resolution of the 6th National Conference of the Japanese Communist Party. The All-Japan Federation of Student Self-Governments movement was warned about being a petty-bourgeois radical movement with an excessive sense of crisis and a political bias, and was forced to make a nearly 180-degree turn from its previous tone. As a result, there was intense unrest among the core students in the All-Japan Federation of Student Self-Governments movement, with some leaving the movement and others choosing to oppose the Communist Party leadership and walking the path of relative independence.

[Nitagai Kamon]

The Reconstruction of the All-Japan Federation of Student Self-Governments and the 1960 Security Treaty Struggle

Although the All Japan Federation of Student Gakuen was hit hard by the 6th All Japan Congress, it was rebuilt in 1956. The position adopted by the All Japan Federation of Student Gakuen leadership at this time was the theory of "student movement as a layer." This was to positively acknowledge the progressiveness of students in the social reform movement, and to assign them the role of a towing vehicle that would lead the masses. The All Japan Federation of Student Gakuen leadership believed that students had already become independent as a layer, both in terms of their social existence and in terms of their movement subjectivity, due to the social changes that followed the war. From this point on, the All Japan Federation of Student Gakuen adopted a unique position from other social movements, and on top of that, they sought to realize peace and democracy through "labor-student cooperation" by making use of their characteristics as students. This position had already been advocated by active, progressive students since the early 1950s, but it came to the fore again after the 6th All Japan Federation of Student Gakuen, as the conflict with the Communist Party became apparent. Although it was partially criticized by anti-Japanese Communist sects that were finally beginning to show organizational buds around this time, it became the official tone of the mainstream of the All Japan Federation of Student Gakuen in principle.

Rebuilt from this standpoint, the All-Japan Federation of Self-Government Self-Governments Associations went on to fight against the expansion of the Sunagawa Base, against performance evaluations, against atomic and hydrogen bomb testing, and against the Police Duties Act, before reaching its peak in the struggle against the revision of the Japan-US Security Treaty in 1960.

Incidentally, the Reconstructed All-Japan Federation of Student Self-Governments was reconstructed in a way that was opposed to the policy of the Communist Party Central Committee, and, influenced by the criticism of Stalin at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1956 and the Hungarian Revolution, the mainstream gradually adopted an anti-Japanese Communist stance. In 1958, the Communist League (Bund) was formed by student activists who had been expelled from the Communist Party, and this Bund led the student movement.

[Nitagai Kamon]

Division and the Zenkyoto Movement

After the defeat of the 1960 Security Treaty protests, the Bund was dissolved over the issue of how to summarize them, and thereafter the All-Japan Federation of Student Self-Governments split into three All-Japan Federation of Student Self-Governments. National university student councils split into the Marxist Student League Revolutionary Marxist Faction (1961), the Democratic Youth League (1964), and the All-Japan Federation of Student Self-Governments (1966) made up of three factions: the Socialist Student League, the Marxist Student League Chukaku-ha, and the Socialist Youth League. Amidst bitter conflict between these factions, campus protests from 1965 onwards (struggles could be seen on campuses across the country around 1968, including at Waseda University, Nihon University, and the University of Tokyo), the 1970 Security Treaty protests, and the protests for the return of Okinawa to Japan unfolded.

What is particularly noteworthy is that the student movement, divided into various parties and sects, was unable to form a unified national front, but the nationwide campus struggles of 1968-69 gave rise to a fighting organization in the form of the All-Campus Joint Struggle Conference (Zenkyoto). The campus democratization struggle at Nihon University and the Tokyo University struggle that began with the democratization of the medical school are typical examples. This fighting organization placed emphasis on the subjectivity of the participants and made decisions through mass collective bargaining so that the movement would not be dominated by a minority. Starting from individual issues at the university, and aiming to become an anti-establishment movement, the struggle was carried out under the leadership of non-sectarian radicals (non-partisan radical students), and most of the anti-Japanese Communist sects were also included. This struggle also came to an end in 1969, and since the 1970 struggle against the Security Treaty and the struggle for the return of Okinawa, Zengakuren has not been in a leading position in the student movement, but has come to function as a mere association of student councils.

[Nitagai Kamon]

"Takagi Masayuki, 'Zengakuren and Zenkyoto' (Kodansha Gendai Shinsho)"

[References] | Security Treaty Struggle | Student Movement

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

全日本学生自治会総連合の略称。第二次世界大戦後の日本の学生運動は、学園民主化闘争（1945～46）で復活し、大衆的な自治会運動として発展した。1948年（昭和23）9月、全国の145大学によって全学連が結成され、以降、党派的分裂を繰り返しながらも、日本の反体制運動や革新運動に欠くことのできない政治的、社会的な地位をもって多様な運動を幅広く組織した。しかし、60年代以降、四分五裂の状態となり、今日まで複数の全学連組織に分解して担われてきており、かつてのような力はなくなっている。

［似田貝香門］

初期の全学連

全学連は結成以来、5.24ゼネスト、反レッド・パージ闘争、朝鮮戦争反対、全面講和運動などの歴史的な闘争を担ってきた。この時期からいわゆる六全協（1955年7月の日本共産党第6回全国協議会）までは日本共産党の強い影響下にあった。共産党は、学生運動の本質をもってプチブル層による民主主義運動とみなし、「民族民主統一戦線」の一翼を担うものと位置づけてきた。ところが、共産党の具体的な運動においては、1952年から53年の「火炎びん闘争」や山村工作隊の指導にみられるように、学生のなかの先進的部分を極左急進主義的行動に導いた結果、大衆学生との間にギャップを生み出した。ここから共産党の学生運動への対応は急に変化し、学生の日常的要求に密着した「日常闘争」を重視し、この路線は六全協の決議で頂点に達した。全学連の運動に対して、過剰な危機意識にとらわれ政治主義的偏向をもつプチブル急進主義という警告が行われ、従来の基調からすれば180度に近い路線転換を迫られた。その結果、全学連の中心的活動学生の間に激しい動揺が生まれ、一部は運動から離脱し、他の一部は共産党指導部と対立する方向を選択し、そこから相対的に自立化の道を歩んだ。

［似田貝香門］

全学連の再建と60年安保闘争

六全協の打撃を受けたが、1956年、全学連は再建された。このとき全学連指導部が採用した立場は、「層としての学生運動」論であった。それは、社会変革運動のなかで学生の先進性を積極的に認め、さらに大衆を引っ張っていく牽引(けんいん)車の役割を課させようというものであった。戦後の社会変動によって、学生はその社会的存在としても運動の主体性の点でも、すでに層として独立性をもつと考え、そこから他の社会運動とは独自の立場をとり、そのうえで、学生としての特性を生かして「労学提携」によって平和と民主主義を実現しようというものであった。この立場は、すでに1950年代初頭から先進的な活動学生の間で主張されていたものであるが、六全協後の共産党との対立が顕在化するなかでふたたび前面に登場し、このころ、ようやく組織的萌芽(ほうが)をみせ始めた反日共系諸セクトによって部分的に批判を受けながらも、原則的には全学連主流派の公認基調となっていった。

　このような立場から再建された全学連は、砂川基地拡張反対闘争、勤務評定反対闘争、原水爆実験反対闘争、警職法反対闘争を経て、1960年の日米安全保障条約改定反対闘争において、その激しさは頂点に達していった。

　ところで、再建全学連は共産党中央の方針と対立する形で再建され、かつ1956年のソ連共産党第20回大会のスターリン批判やハンガリー動乱の影響もあって、徐々に主流派が反日共的立場をとった。58年には共産党を除名された学生活動家を中心に共産主義者同盟（ブンド）が結成され、このブンドによって学生運動が指導された。

［似田貝香門］

分裂と全共闘運動

60年安保闘争の敗北後、その総括をめぐってブンドは解体し、以後、全学連は三つの全学連組織に分裂した。全国の大学自治会は、マルクス主義学生同盟革マル派（1961）、民主青年同盟（1964）、そして社会主義学生同盟・マルクス主義学生同盟中核派・社会主義青年同盟の三派による全学連（1966）に分裂し、相互に厳しい対立のなかで、1965年以降の学園闘争（早稲田(わせだ)大学、日本大学、東京大学など、68年ごろには全国の学園で闘争がみられた）や70年安保闘争、沖縄返還闘争などが展開された。

　とくに注目されるのは、諸党派・セクトに分裂した学生運動は、相対立し、全国統一体としての戦線を組むことはできなかったが、1968～69年の全国の学園闘争は全学共闘会議（全共闘）という形態の闘争組織を生み出した。日大の学園民主化闘争や、医学部民主化に端を発する東大闘争はその典型である。この闘争組織は、参加者の主体性に重点を置き、運動が少数者によって支配されないように、大衆団交という討議方式で意思決定を行うものであった。そして、大学の個別の問題から出発して、反体制運動を志向しながら、ノンセクト・ラディカル（無党派過激学生）の指導のもとに、反日共系のほとんどのセクトも包摂される形で闘争が行われた。この闘争も69年に終焉(しゅうえん)し、70年安保闘争、沖縄返還闘争以降、全学連は学生運動の指導的位置にはなく、単なる自治会連合組織としての機能を担うに至っている。

［似田貝香門］

『高木正幸著『全学連と全共闘』（講談社現代新書）』

[参照項目] | 安保闘争 | 学生運動

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