In May and June 1960, Tokyo was convulsed by the greatest popular protests of its postwar history. The target of the protests was the renewal of the U.S.-Japan security treaty, originally signed in 1951. The treaty committed Japan to support U.S. cold-war policy in Asia by hosting and rearming a huge network of U.S. military bases. This unit introduces Hamaya Hiroshi’s classic photographs, taken between May 20 and June 22, when demonstrations and clashes with police resulted in many injuries and the tragic death of a female student.
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