From: robohen@ocf.berkeley.edu (Henry Robertson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: RIGHT-WING EXTREMISTS MASSACRE 47 COLLEGE STUDENTS IN ROPPONGI
Date: 11 Nov 1992 06:16:08 GMT
Organization: U. C. Berkeley Open Computing Facility
NNTP-Posting-Host: headcrash.berkeley.edu

(AP) -- What had started as a leftist demonstration opposing the impending
appointment of former prime minister Takeshita in the wake of a recent
bribery scandal, ended in carnage and mayhem, leaving a smoke-filled 
main intersection at Roppongi strewn with corpses, rubble, overturned buses,
and shattered glass glittering under cold neon lights.  

Approximately 500 members of the Japan Revolutionary Marxist Party
(Kakumaru) had started demonstrating unannounced at 12:15 PM yesterday,
pouring onto the streets from the backs of carrier vans.  Mostly from
neighboring Waseda University, the demonstrators dressed in white construction
helmets, black sunglasses and white gauze masks, carried placards and red
flags while chanting for the resignation of politician Noboru Takeshita.

In a tragic coincidence, a caravan of ultranationalist gangsters simultaneously
headed towards the intersection from the opposite direction, playing
militaristic songs on their speakers.  As lunchtime crowds packing nearby
restaurants and cafes watched in horror, the ultranationalists heckled with
the leftists, the altercation escalating rapidly.  Nearby police, hopelessly
outnumbered by the combined presence of leftists and ultranationalists, could
only sort out some semblance of order with the flow of traffic around the 
demonstration.  Then, as push came to shove, the unidentified leader of 
the ultranationalist crowd produced a dagger from inside his shirt, and 
proceeded to stab the leader of the kakumaru demonstration, identified as
sociology professor Tomoji Ishi.        

The kakumaru crowd, taken aback by the sudden turn of events, dragged
professor Ishi away from the nationalists.  Although the leftist crowd 
retreated, the nationalists ensued with a wave of sword-wielding linemen.
What followed was a tale of gruesome killings, cruelty unfamiliar to the
japanese psyche since the days of imperialist aggression in World War II.
      

While leftists and ordinary pedestrians fled the scene in terror, nationalists
proceeded to ignite or overturn kakumaru vans.  One van managed to pull out,
hitting three nationalists before getting trapped inbetween traffic; 
subsequently, hordes of nationalists charged at the van, impaling the driver
from through the driver's side window.  With flames erupting everywhere
and sidewalk boutiques getting strewn, panicked commuters exploded out of
the Roppongi intersection, preventing riot police from approaching the scene.
Some of the rushing crowd charged into the subway station, spilling commuters
onto the tracks.  An oncoming train applied emergency brakes, but one middle-aged man on the tracks was killed, as well as injuring at least 7 passengers on board.  

About 15 minutes into the rioting, Tokyo metropolitan police helicopters
finally passed over the intersection, spewing tear gas.  However, this only
added to the confusion, as riot police were not equipped with gas masks.
Nationalists fled into emptying shops, while also attacking resident alien
workers.  Three alien workers are known to have been stabbed to death, but
the count may be higher, said Roppongi distric police spokesman Ikeda
Tsukamoto.  

Finally, the nationalists dispersed when tanks approached from the nearby
ministry of defence headquarters.  Outpowered police did their best to 
contain fleeing nationalists, making 14 arrests.  Many nationalists still
remain at large, and Tokyo police are working around the clock to trace
back evidence from some abandoned nationalist vans.  

Rescue of the casualties came much later, as  ambulances found it nearly
impossible to approach the intersection with miles of gridlock ahead.
"It was like the nationalists deliberately let the demonstrators slowly
bleed to death," said police sergeant Hayashi Youichi, who was on the scene.
"We were caught completely unprepared for the situation."

With almost no rescue copters available, the ambulances did their best
to save dying victims, requesting for blood donations on the scene.  Five
innocent bystanders were crushed or seriously wounded during the struggle,
with dozens more suffering bruises or broken bones in the ensuing rush.
Among the seriously wounded is US citizen Ron Takaki, who teaches English
at a nearby English school.  He is in stable condition at the sixth 
metropolitan hospital in Akasaka.  

As the body count of leftists mounted to 47, some run over by fleeing cars,
the surviving members of the Waseda Kakumaru chapter remain visibly shaken.
"Never have I witnessed such atrocity coming forth visibly from the nationalists," said Michiro Ieyasu, a career leftist in his 40's.  "There will be 
retributions."

Comparatively little is known of the shadowy connections between the ruling
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the yakuza underworld syndicates.  They
are known to regularly bribe politicians at every level to stay unchecked
by law enforcement, and have considerable activities spanning the pacific
and beyond.  Peddling in stocks, real estate, methamphetamines, and
pachinko operations, their power is by one estimate stronger than any 
Japanese corporation.  

"We have witnessed a historic event in the struggle to contain the yakuza,"  
remarked Michiro.  "There will be hell to pay, many more will die, but
what must be done will be done."

          Whi
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan