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The Sanrizuka Struggle（三里塚闘争, Sanrizuka tōsō) refers to a civil conflict involving the Japanese government and the agricultural community of Sanrizuka, comprising organised opposition by farmers, local residents, and leftist groups to the construction of Narita International Airport. The struggle stemmed from the government’s decision to construct the airport in Sanrizuka without the involvement or consent of most area residents. It was led by the Sanrizuka-Shibayama Joint Anti-Airport Union, which locals formed under progressive political party leadership. The struggle eventually resulted in significant delays in the opening of the airport, as well as casualties on both sides.

Imperial farmland
The northern region of Chiba Prefecture has been farmland since around 700, when the emperor ordered the creation of horse and cattle pastures there. In the early 20th century, the area became the imperial family’s farmlands, known as Goryō Farm (御料牧場, goryou bokujō). Locals became familiar with the imperial family, who frequently came to visit their stables. The Goryō Farm was emotionally and economically indispensable to locals, with some residents saying this contributed to local opposition to the airport: “Hearing that the Goryō Farm would disappear [as a result of the construction] made everyone around here go crazy.”

Old farming villages
The Shimōsa Plateau has been active in agriculture for centuries. Villages conducting agricultural work in the region since the Edo period were called koson (古村,“old village”). Edo imperial magistrates’ jurisdiction did not reach these villages, which is said to have fostered defiance of political authority as a feature of the region. Farmers’ movements, unions, and strikes thrived here above anywhere else in the prefecture.

Land-cultivating villages
In 1923, 2,000 hectares of the Goryō Farm were sold, leading to the development of small villages throughout the Meiji and Taishō periods. This land was cultivated by former lower-class samurai, servants of samurai families, and others who lost their livelihoods to the Meiji Restoration. Many could not cope with the hardships of land-clearing work and abandoned the area. The farmers who remained would later win a long judicial struggle against wealthy Tokyo merchants who held land-bonds, securing their own rights to the land.

In 1946, after Japan’s defeat in WWII, large tracts of imperial-owned land were again sold off. The various disenfranchised peoples who settled this land were collectively called “the new poor” (新窮民 shin-kyuumin). They did heavy agricultural labour day and night, living in straw huts without electricity or running water. Settlers who could not endure this harsh environment left; those who remained were able to make a living off of land purchased from deserters. Because of these histories, this region’s farmers overall had a very strong attachment to their lands.

Aviation demand and plans for a new airport
In the 1960s, Japan’s aviation demands were dramatically increasing with its rapid economic growth. It was predicted that Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport) would reach capacity by 1970. However, for many logistical reasons expanding Haneda was not an option. Instead, the Ikeda cabinet began planning a second international airport, making a formal cabinet decision on 16th November 1962.

In June 1963, the Ministry of Transport drew up plans for the “New Tokyo International Airport” which envisioned an airport spanning about 2,300 hectares. Areas considered for the site included Tomisato, Hachimata, and several other villages in Chiba Prefecture as well as Ibaraki Prefecture. In December 1963 the Aviation Council report to Minister of Transport Kentarō Ayabe recommended the Tomisato area, making no reference to the issue of land acquisition.

On 18th November 1965, Eisaku Satō’s cabinet made an informal tentative decision to construct the airport in Tomisato, which Chief Cabinet Secretary Tomisaburō Hashimoto unexpectedly announced at a press conference. The planned airport’s area equaled half of Tomisato’s, and its construction would mean the disappearance of many farming villages. Additionally, because aircraft usage at the time was not yet common among the general public, people primarily considered airports disruptions that burdened their surrounding environments with noise pollution and other issues. Opposition movements had already risen in each of the potential construction sites, such as the Tomisato-Hachimata Anti-Airport Union formed in 1963. Local farmers expressed outrage at the one-sided nature of the decision. There was also resistance by local public bodies who had not been informed of the developments, leading to temporary suspension of the cabinet decision.

In 1966, the opposition movement showed no signs of waning. Fearing that the airport construction would be forced to a standstill, the Satō cabinet negotiated secretly with transport vice minister Tokuji Wakasa, Chiba Prefectural Mayor Taketo Tomonō, and LDP vice president Shōjirō Kawashima. They decided to reassign the construction site 4 kilometers northeast, to state-owned land on Goryō Farm, to minimise private land acquisition. They also expected that with Sanrizuka’s impoverished farming communities, construction would be possible as long as adequate compensation was provided. However, the Ministry of Transport still considered the Tomisato plan ideal and the Sanrizuka plan a fallback. On 21st June 1966, after the switch to the Sanrizuka plan had already been agreed between the government and the prefecture, Transport Minister Torata Nakamura told a press conference, “There is nowhere for the airport but Tomisato/Hachimata.”

The following day, Prime Minister Satō held a broadcast conference with Mayor Tomonō regarding the Sanrizuka plan. This time the decision had been made after coordination with prefectural officials, but still without consulting locals. Consequently, Sanrizuka and Shibayama residents were shocked to learn of the decision from the broadcast, and furious opposition broke out as it had in Tomisato. Tomisato organisers hurried to Sanrizuka to encourage frustrated residents that resistance was possible.

On 4th July, the Satō cabinet, wishing to hurry the opening of the airport, made another cabinet decision for the new airport construction. This plan still required a vast expanse of land of which Goryō farmland constituted less than 40%, again making the acquisition of citizen-owned land a major issue.

According to the Transport Minister’s instructions in December 1966, the goal was to build the airport in two phases and begin operating the first half by spring 1971, with the remainder to be completed by the end of 1973.

Formation of the anti-airport union
Immediately after the cabinet decision, opposition in the region was nearly unanimous and in July/August 1966 the Sanrizuka-Shibayama Joint Anti-Airport Union was formed.

The government was eventually able to secure land from many residents who conceded for social or financial reasons. To acquire the rest, the government employed both hard and soft measures, but the opposition persisted. Beginning in August 1966 they led a campaign to purchase single plots of land within the designated construction site. Also that month, Mayor Tomonō communicated intent to have on-site investigations performed on the construction site. The opposition responded with demonstrations, sit-ins, and petitions, none of which succeeded. Many appeals were made to LDP leaders, who had a wide following among the opposition, but they persisted in support of the airport.

Early on 10th October, airport corporation members came protected by approximately 1500 riot police to install surveying pile drivers. The opposition attempted to block the road with a sit-in, but under the pretense of traffic law violations they were violently removed by riot police. The airport corporation managed to set up 3 pile drivers on-site, afterwards calling this a breakthrough toward the construction.

Involvement of other political groups
In 1967, Japan’s student movement was on the rise, and the union hoped to cooperate with students who had just clashed with riot police in protests against the US-Japan Security Treaty, taking the stance that they would “accept support without regard for political faction.”  Supported by various left-wing groups, the union held sit-ins, seized and destroyed surveying equipment from airport corporation employees, erected barricades, threw stones, and harassed airport affiliates. Generally they were successful in mobilising armed struggle against the government. However, antagonism developed between parties, creating differing perceptions among union members of their relationship to leftist parties and eventually leading to splits.

Intensification of the struggle
From April-July 1968, the airport corporation ran a survey of the real estate of residents who had agreed to give up their land, which both leftist parties and farmers opposed with physical resistance resulting in damage to many houses and fields.

On 18th August 1969 the Goryō Farm’s closing ceremony was held. The union attended in protest, and the youth division destroyed the assembly hall, putting their leader on the police’s nationwide wanted list. The police became tougher on the opposition, arresting union leader Issaku Tomura and thirteen others in November 1969 for a occupying a road and stopping a bulldozer.

With these struggles, peaceful acquisition of land was thought impossible, and the airport corporation used state power to forcibly expropriate the remaining necessary land. In 1970, it carried out an on-site survey on yet-unpurchased land. Opposition members threw raw sewage, chlorpicrin, and stones, and fought with sickles and bamboo spears. They also constructed forts on the land, including underground. On 22nd February 1971, the government enacted the first administrative subrogation and the opposition supporters clashed with construction workers and riot police. The forts were demolished.

On 16th September 1971 the second subrogation was enacted. Four days later, riot police and construction workers arrived on-site to remove an elderly woman (Yone Koizumi) and demolish her house. As a real example of how the state could steal the foundation of residents’ lives, this incident became a symbol for the continuing opposition struggle. On 1st October 1971, Fumio Sannomiya, a central member of the youth division, committed suicide, leaving a note that said, “I detest those who brought the airport to this land” and “I have lost the will to keep fighting.” Additional conflicts in 1971 led to the deaths of three riot police and multiple injuries on both sides.

In March 1972, the union constructed a 60.6 meter tower within Runway A’s approach area, obstructing flight tests. Opposition activity also halted the construction of a pipeline for transporting jet fuel from the Port of Chiba. Facility construction was able to proceed, but the opening continued to be delayed. The opposition union had also received a blow with the mass arrests at the anti-subrogation struggle, with its initial membership of 320 households falling to 45, then to 23 by 1976.

Opening of the airport
In January 1977, the Fukuda cabinet proclaimed that the airport would open within the year. On 17th April the opposition mobilised 17,500 people — an all-time record for the struggle — and held a general rally against the airport in a Sanrizuka public park.

In May 1977, the airport corporation submitted an injunction request for the demolition of the tower to the prefectural court, which was accepted. On 6th May 2,100 riot police gained control of the tower and surrounding area. Protestors were removed and the tower demolished. Clashes between opposition and riot police continued, and on 8th May a large-scale conflict broke out. One protestor sustained a direct blow to the head from a tear gas bomb, lost consciousness, and died two days later. The deceased’s parents sued the government and prefecture for ¥94,000,000 in damages. On 9th May, in an attack considered revenge for this incident, one police officer died.

Meanwhile, first-phase construction continued, and the airport was scheduled to open for operation with one runway on 30th March 1978. However, on 26th March, several left-wing groups raided the airport, occupying a control tower and destroying equipment and facilities. Further delays became inevitable, and the government enacted new disciplinary laws as well as increasing airport security.

On 20th May, two months later, the New Tokyo International Airport was finally completed despite ongoing opposition. At this time 17 farming households remained on the unfinished second-phase land, of which 15 belonged to the union.

Actions after the opening
With the opening of the airport the union’s slogan was changed from “Certain Prevention of the Airport” to “Airport Abolition / Stop Second Phase Construction.” Issaku Tomura, the leader and psychological pillar of the union, soon died of illness, and combined with the reality of the airport’s success, this led many union participants to withdraw. Over time the union’s previous supporters — leftist and student groups— came to take charge.

Authorities thought it impossible to protect the airport from militant attacks while also acquiring the second-phase land, leading to behind-the-scenes negotiations between government and union members. However, negotiations failed after being leaked to the media, resulting in harassment of union leaders and the union dissolving into chaos. But destructive action against the airport continued, with over 511 incidents of guerilla action recorded between 1978 and 2017.