[Articles] “The Root Cause of Conflicts” : Student Activism and Government Campaigns against Autonomous Dormitories in Japan, 1971–2001

In June 1971, following the aftermath of the 1968-1969 Japanese University Protests, the Ministry of Education's Central Council for Education issued a report declaring self-governed student dormitories “the root cause of conflicts” and asserting that they no longer filled an educational function within universities. In response, many universities progressively curtailed student autonomy in dormitory management, a process that culminated in the demolition of historic facilities and the construction of new dormitories subject to strict government regulation. This paper examines Japanese state and university initiatives to dismantle autonomous dormitory housing during the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the protest movements organized by students in opposition, with a particular focus on Kyoto University's Yoshida Dormitory. The targeting of autonomous dormitories formed part of a broader campaign to suppress student activism in the wake of the 1960s. By replacing the older structures with facilities designed to prevent self-governance, the government sought to promote discipline, conformity, and passivity among university students. The persistence of student efforts to preserve these dormitories, however--extending into the present--demonstrates the continued vitality of youth resistance and political engagement in post-1960s Japan.