Zenkyōtō

thumb|A Japanese student protest in June 1968 thumb|A Zenkyōtō helmet The , commonly known as the , were Japanese student organizations consisting of anti-government, anti-Japanese Communist Party leftist and non-sectarian radicals. The Zenkyōtō were formed to organize students during the 1968–69 Japanese university protests. Unlike other student movement organizations, graduate students and young teachers were allowed to participate. Active in the late 1960s, Zenkyōtō was the driving force behind clashes between Japanese students and the police. Zenkyōtō groups were driven by alienation and a reaction to "American imperialism", Japanese "Monopoly Capitalism", and "Russian Stalinism". However, many members of the movement were non-political (known as in Japanese), and were focused more on more practical and local problems. Much of the movement centered around nihilism, humanism and existentialism, which served as inspirations for revolution.

Since individual Zenkyōtō groups were formed independently at each university, their timing, purpose, organization and policies were unique. Among Zenkyōtō groups at universities, Nihon University and the University of Tokyo are the most well-known. The media reported that University of Tokyo Zenkyōtō members tried to "dismantle colleges". In their protests, University of Tokyo Zenkyōtō members battled police with hurled stones and wooden staves nicknamed "violence sticks" (). Some say that the University of Tokyo faction was more of a mass movement than an organized movement in which concrete ideas and policies were set forth. Zenkyōtō policies could be more diverse depending on different universities and individuals.