Bloody May Day

Bloody May Day
Date	May 1, 1952
Location	Kokyo Gaien National Garden, Tokyo, Japan
Caused by	Opposition to the Security Treaty between the United States and Japan
Parties
Labor unionists organized by the Sōhyō labor federation Zengakuren student activists Zainichi Korean activists Communist Party members Police officers of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department
Number
~5,000 ~1,500
Casualties and losses
2 dead ~1,500 injured ~800 injured

Bloody May Day (血のメーデー事件, Chi no mēdē jiken) refers to a violent conflict that took place between protesters and police officers in the Kokyo Gaien National Garden in front of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan, on May 1, 1952. When a large crowd protesting the U.S.—Japan Security Treaty refused to disband, a bloody melee took place between protesters and police officers. Eventually the police officers opened fire on the crowd, killing 2 and injuring 22 with bullet wounds.^[1] Altogether, around 2,300 people (1,500 protesters and 800 police officers) were injured in the fighting.^[2]