Fully-clad riot police raid dormitory at Kyoto University in Japan
Officers, apparently investigating left-wing movement, converge on Kyoto dormitory
Scores of riot police raided a dormitory at a leading Japanese university yesterday in an apparently heavy-handed response to a left-wing movement that may involve students.
Television footage showed ranks of helmeted officers carrying shields and wearing protective clothing at a dormitory at the prestigious Kyoto University, backed up by plain-clothed officers.
The operation was carried out by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, according to media reports, in connection with the arrest earlier this month of three leftist activists, including at least one Kyoto University student.
The three were arrested on suspicion of obstructing public officials and accused of using violence against riot police officers on the sidelines of a labour rally in Tokyo held in November 2, the reports said.
Footage of the raid showed no evidence of any violence, with Jiji Press reporting riot police were brought in to "prevent confusion". Tokyo police said they were not able to immediately confirm the raid.
Student radicalism in Japan reached its peak in the 1960s and 1970s, when activists demonstrated against Japan's military alliance with the US, the Vietnam war, and the construction of Narita international airport outside Tokyo. Now, the few remaining activists are very much a fringe force, but the government's unpopular push to restart nuclear reactors and expand the role of the military has provided activists with renewed impetus.