The starting point of the student movement

The editorial translated below appeared in the University Newspaper (Daigaku Shinbun), published out of Tokyo Imperial University, on 11 October 1945. It is a very early example of the reemergence of the Japanese student movement after years of repression under the wartime regime. The central issue animating the editorial is the question of how to guard against the rise of “liars and opportunists,” who will use the language of democracy to further their own interests. For the writer, the answer is a vigorous association of progressives, with students at its heart. But for students to be able to play their proper, indeed historically mandated role in such a movement, they first need to acquire the correct political subjectivity. This is the starting point of the student movement.