A campaign for the expulsion of Makiguchi was initiated because of his refusal to give preferential treatment to the child of a powerful local family. This campaign was orchestrated by Yoshinobu Takahashi, a local politician who exerted strong influence over the Tokyo municipal government. Makiguchi's supporters among the students' families and his fellow staff campaigned hard to keep him in office, staging a three-day boycott in his support, but in the end he was forced to resign.