VOX POPULI: Michiko Kanba and the 'Anpo' demonstrations

Every generation has days to look back on with some degree of passion. For people in their mid-60s or older, June 15, 1960, must be one of them. A half-century ago Tuesday, student demonstrators opposing the revision of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty stormed the Diet building. During the clash with riot police, Michiko Kanba, a 22-year-old University of Tokyo student, was killed.

Kanba, according to those who knew her, was quiet and had an inner fortitude. As an activist of Zengakuren (national federation of students' self-governing associations), she spent her days reading and attending student rallies. She told those around her that it was time for her to work on her graduation thesis. She looked peaceful in death as if she was smiling, according to notes written by her family.

The new treaty was ratified and Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi (1896-1987) stepped down. His successor, Hayato Ikeda (1899-1965), promoted policies to double working people's income, and Japan entered the era of postwar economic growth. Akiko Esashi, the author of "Kanba Michiko: Seishojo Densetsu" (Michiko Kanba: Legend of a holy girl) published by Bungeishunju Ltd., thinks the awareness and lifestyle of the Japanese people changed with "the two Michikos," Crown Princess (now empress) Michiko and Michiko Kanba. The latter opened a heavy door at the cost of her life, Esashi argues.

One afternoon after rain had fallen, I visited Tama cemetery in suburban Tokyo where Kanba's remains are interred. The poem "Saigo ni" (In the end) that she wrote as a high school student is engraved on her grave marker. It ends with the following words: "But I will not laugh forever/ I won't be able to laugh forever/ I don't mind it/ But if I may/ In the end/ I wish to smile without being seen by others."

While the student movement was passed down to Zenkyoto and other student organizations, it no longer had the power to incite the masses. Meanwhile, even after the Cold War, tensions remained in the Far East where U.S. military forces are still present. As Okinawa shows, an abnormal situation becomes part of everyday life when it stays in place for a long time.

Back then, even young children chanted the slogan "Anpo hantai" (down with the security treaty). But now, it can hardly be heard.

It was none other than Prime Minister Naoto Kan who belongs to the Zenkyoto generation that praised the Japan-U.S. alliance as "an internationally shared asset."

I wonder if Kanba is still smiling.

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 15

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.