Chapter 516

Uesugi Muneyuki, Chief Cabinet Secretary Onoda Kimiaki, Director of the Commissioner's Secretariat Onoda Kimiaki, and Superintendent General Watanabe Eiji all looked at Uesugi Muneyuki, using their eyes to ask him whether he knew about the All-Campus Joint Struggle Committee.

Uesugi Muneyuki silently nodded.

My old man even participated in the All-Campus Joint Struggle Committee, so how could I possibly say I didn't know about it?

The full name of the "All-Campus Joint Struggle Committee" is "All-Campus Joint Struggle Conference," referring to the nationwide student movement that erupted in Japan from the late 1960s to early 1970s, a general term for the alliance of student self-governing organizations spontaneously formed within universities.

The origin of the All-Campus Joint Struggle Committee was postwar Japan's rapid economic development, but the government's policy of "favoring enterprises, neglecting people's livelihood" led to soaring prices,

housing difficulties, tight medical and educational resources, causing the entire society to feel a strong sense of "unease," coupled with rigid and backward university management, opposition to the US-Japan Security Treaty, and the inspiration from the postwar international communist movement's upsurge (everyone who understands, understands), thus triggering the intense student movement.

Due to well-known reasons and scenes that are hard to describe, I won't go into detail about the process of the All-Campus Joint Struggle Committee here.

In short, ultimately, as the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department mobilized 8,500 police officers to forcibly storm Yasuda Lecture Hall at Tokyo University, the All-Campus Joint Struggle Committee declared defeat, students from various universities were successively suppressed, and the All-Campus Joint Struggle Committee was basically declared a failure in 1969.

There are many reasons for the failure of the All-Campus Joint Struggle Committee.

For example, the students themselves lacked armed force, completely relying on social sympathy to deter police from using force, but when students began making Molotov cocktails and fighting sticks, they quickly lost social sympathy.

As we all know, once the left wing gains a little momentum, it immediately starts internal struggles over "leadership rights" and "interpretive authority," and the All-Campus Joint Struggle Committee was no exception; after slightly forming a scale, internal factions sprang up daily, engaging in "purifying the left," with victors' minds filled only with expelling dissenters from the left, while losers thought "mutual loss is better than solo loss," making unity fundamentally impossible.

For example, Uesugi Muneyuki's grandfather, Uesugi Kuninori, discovered when students initially succeeded in "occupying the teaching building" that they didn't discuss what to do next but instead began infinite splitting, with big and small groups all day searching for "traitors" and "expelling from the left," after which he felt deeply disappointed and withdrew from the movement.

There are also other reasons, such as external forces being simply too strong (the US-Japan alliance), or merely brainlessly opposing the existing situation, which I won't elaborate on here.

However, although the All-Campus Joint Struggle Committee failed, it actually succeeded.

Because the political demands of the All-Campus Joint Struggle Committee, aside from those clearly impossible to achieve (abolishing the US-Japan Security Treaty, having everyone respond to world revolution, abolishing the existing government), were basically realized.

After the All-Campus Joint Struggle Committee, the Japanese government was forced to agree to reform the university democratic self-governance system, students began to have self-governance rights (such as the student council president power familiar from anime), curriculum reform, and the abolition of the principal's authoritarian system.

Whether voluntary or not, Japanese enterprises indeed significantly improved worker treatment due to the All-Campus Joint Struggle Committee, began offering better benefits and more humane management, objectively providing impetus for the formation of the later Japanese "corporate welfare" model.

Japanese society also began truly contemplating "what democracy actually is," which, to some extent, can be considered as reopening the gate of class consolidation after the Meiji Restoration, allowing masses of commoners and ordinary people to gain further opportunities for class advancement, and profoundly influencing social culture and social concepts.

Lastly, the third renewal of the US-Japan Security Treaty was also influenced by the All-Campus Joint Struggle Committee; facing this, the US had to make concessions on many issues, for example, agreeing that most forces withdraw from Japan (the District Public Prosecutors Office is such a part directly controlled by the CIA, gradually becoming a department where the US retained only partial indirect influence), and again, for example, relinquishing many extraterritorial rights, such as addressing US military discipline crimes.

Before the third security treaty, if US Forces Japan committed crimes in the line of duty, unless someone died or the impact was severe, the US military almost never handled it and refused to make it public (then secretly sending the person back to the US overnight), if it was off-duty crime, only about one-tenth was transferred to Japanese prosecutors for indictment, but after the treaty, even if US Forces Japan committed crimes in the line of duty with solid evidence, they would initiate a military court trial to be judged, allowing Japanese prosecutors to observe (although the penalties still have a bias), and for off-duty crimes transferred to Japanese prosecutors for indictment, the proportion rose to 3-4 tenths, and has now exceeded five-tenths to this day.

Therefore, even today, many old-timers in Japan still nostalgically remember the All-Campus Joint Struggle Committee, because from a certain perspective, it was a "failed movement, successful reform."

"It seems you know." Onoda Kimiaki said calmly: "In that case, you should understand that, like the Red Army, the Red Goldfinch is also a far-left terrorist organization derived from the All-Campus Joint Struggle Committee."

"Ah, speaking of it really brings back memories, that was truly a period of passionate, burning years." Onoda Kuninori also lightly nodded, it is well known that as long as treatment and status are improved to a considerable extent, the number of resisters will immediately drop by 90%; after the All-Campus Joint Struggle Committee ended, part of them were arrested, part stopped causing trouble because their goals and demands had already been met, but a part remained unsatisfied, feeling they were not radical enough, not violent enough.

This is the origin of the Japanese Red Army.

"Oh? Did the Commissioner also participate in the left-right struggle?" Uesugi Muneyuki raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, you probably don't know this, but I was famous for it; back then, the entire high school class was competing to see who would play the 'Revolutionary Warrior,' while only I was preparing for the college entrance exam." Onoda Kuninori said meaningfully: "So my file has a special advantage compared to my contemporaries—"

"Not participating is correct." Watanabe Eiji said somewhat fawningly: "Muneyuki-kun also once mentioned to me, the Asama Sanso incident."

Uesugi Muneyuki's expression became even more profound.

After the Red Army was established, they thought: "I want to burn this world and rule over its ashes," since security improved, I would destroy it, since treatment got better, I would sabotage it, and thus produced one terrorist attack after another.

The Tel Aviv Airport indiscriminate shooting, the French Embassy occupation and Imperial Palace attack, multiple hijackings.

But among them, the most far-reaching impact was still the Asama Sanso hostage incident.

The cause was the Red Army's failed attack on the Chigaki Ken hunting gun store, fleeing into the base inside the Harusan Diqu area of Haruna Mountain.

At this time, the Red Army trapped on the mountain could do nothing; going down the mountain meant facing fully armed police, whom they couldn't defeat in a fight, so someone suddenly had a brainwave, believing the Red Army's previous failure was due to insufficient internal "purity," so they needed to launch a "summary" movement.

This is the very classic "finding traitors" and "expelling from the left."

In just over two months, during one round after another of "finding traitors" and "expelling from the left," 29 Red Army members killed 12 of their own people, including a couple and a pregnant woman (still, it was her husband who informed the organization, saying his wife's thoughts were not pure).

These matters were only discovered during the Japanese police's post-break-in search of Asama Sanso when they finally stormed the mountain villa, and this case was nationwide live broadcast, with 90% of Japanese households watching the live broadcast, shocking all Japanese people.

We sympathize with you hoping you will plead for the people, not wanting to see you all day playing battle royale internally!

Thus, from then on, similar far-left organizations like the Red Army lost all national sympathy, while the remnants felt increasingly that the populace was numb and indifferent, thus acting increasingly extremist and terrifying, wishing to throw an Aksis at the Earth, thus completely losing all legitimacy.

"If that's the case, is the Red Goldfinch also a similar organization?" Uesugi Muneyuki fully understood.

"Hmm." Onoda Kimiaki furrowed his brows: "This organization's most famous act is the Peace Bank bombing, which killed eight bank employees, injured twenty-seven, and robbed the vault of gold and a large sum of cash; finally, the organization was eliminated due to internal ideological disagreement and divergence on how to handle the money and gold in their hands, with internal struggle ultimately destroying it, but many cadres and members fled overseas."

Uesugi Muneyuki felt even more confused upon hearing this.

So, does the existence of the inner world still have some connection to far-left terrorist organizations?

Things are getting more and more complicated, "Uesugi-kun, you wouldn't possibly sympathize with these people, would you?" Onoda Kimiaki said meaningfully: "Although I think you're not the type needing reminding, I hope you understand that what they want is not fairness or liberation, but to destroy everything you currently possess, then force you to walk the same path as them."

"In this, you, possessing peerage status and excellent abilities, bear original sin—"

"I know." Uesugi Muneyuki said with a bitter smile: "I am peerage, just by this identity alone, I am not 'pure,' the outcome will only be proving innocence through death, I understand all of this."

"Knowing is good." Onoda Kimiaki nodded, he sighed: "Actually, I don't want to tell you these things, but Uesugi-kun you especially care about, we police organizations also can't do without you, so letting you know some things is fine, but I hope you understand."

"Your current everything comes from your technology, your ability, your family background, your appearance, likewise from your effort and your bloodline, not from the Red Goldfinch's terrorism, killing, and bombs."

"Don't project yourself into it." Watanabe Eiji also spoke up.

"Cynicism is a luxury for bystanders, not a weapon for participants. Muneyuki, you are very smart, very capable, but don't forget which side you stand on."

"Tell me, without the Emperor, where does peerage come from? Without this 'system' that has continued for a thousand years, where would the Yonezawa Uesugi clan come from? Where would the Kanazawa Maeda clan come from? And where would you, able to stand here today as a savior discussing 'fairness,' Uesugi Muneyuki, come from?"

The interrogation room fell into silence.

Uesugi Muneyuki stood in place, his father-in-law's words like icy tidewater, washing over his earlier sigh, he could not refute its reality and logic.

He has his family, his friends, his Mai, his Minami, his Eirina, and his Asuka, he has his work life, his career and dreams.

He ultimately did not refute, only slightly nodded, his eyes complex, softly said: "—- I understood, Father-in-law."

In short, such far-left organizations have always believed they could represent everyone.

But your "we," including me?

No, their "we," many times, does not even include their own people.

Uesugi Muneyuki gazed intensely, finally taking a distant look at Horikawa Nen being interrogated: "Then I'll take my leave first."

Watanabe Eiji nodded satisfied, patted his shoulder, tone softened: "Understood is good. Remember, ability is used to rise and protect, not to destroy the high ground you stand on. Go back, Minami is waiting for you."

"Please enjoy the honor and praise you deserve, Uesugi-kun." Onoda Kuninori also nodded: "See you at the celebration banquet at Akasaka Rikyū tonight!"