Labor unions in Japan

Labor unions in Japan
National organization(s)Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo)

National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren)
National Trade Union Council (Zenrokyo)

Others
Regulatory authorityMinistry of Health, Labour and Welfare
Primary legislationLabour Union Law (Act. No. 51, Dec 1945)

Labour Relations Adjustment Law (1946)
Labour Standards Law (1947)
Labour Union Law (Act. No. 174, June 1949)

Labour Contract Law (2007)[1]
Total union membership10,238,187[2]
Percentage of workforce unionized16.3% (2023)[3]
International Labour Organization
Japan is a member of the ILO
Convention ratification
Freedom of Association14 June 1965
Right to Organise20 October 1953

Labour unions emerged in Japan in the second half of the Meiji period, after 1890, as the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization.[4] Until 1945, however, the labour movement remained weak, impeded by a lack of legal rights,[5] anti-union legislation,[4] management-organized factory councils, and political divisions between “cooperative” and radical unionists.[6]

In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, the U.S. Occupation authorities initially encouraged the formation of independent unions, but reversed course as part of broader anti-Communist measures.[7][5] The legislation was passed that enshrined the right to organize,[8] and membership rapidly rose to 5 million by February 1947.[5] The organization rate peaked at 55.8% in 1949[9] and subsequently declined to 16.3% as of 2023.[3]

The labour movement went through a process of reorganization from 1987 to 1991[10] from which emerged the present configuration of three major labour union federations, along with other smaller national union organizations.

  1. ^ Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training. Labor Laws of Japan. Archived 2011-05-25 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 11 June 2011
  2. ^ Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. Labour Unions and Membership (1945-2005). Retrieved 10 June 2011
  3. ^ a b Japan International Labour Foundation website on 2023 Basic Survey of Trade Unions [1]
  4. ^ a b Nimura, K. The Formation of Japanese Labor Movement: 1868-1914 (Translated by Terry Boardman). Retrieved 11 June 2011
  5. ^ a b c Cross Currents. Labor unions in Japan. CULCON. Retrieved 11 June 2011
  6. ^ Weathers, C. (2009). Business and Labor. In William M. Tsutsui, ed., A Companion to Japanese History (2009) pp. 493-510.
  7. ^ LEE, YONG WOOK (2004). "THE ORIGIN OF ONE PARTY DOMINATION: AMERICA'S REVERSE COURSE AND THE EMERGENCE OF THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN JAPAN". The Journal of East Asian Affairs. 18 (2): 371–413. ISSN 1010-1608.
  8. ^ Jung, L. (30 March 2011). National Labour Law Profile: Japan. ILO. Retrieved 10 June 2011
  9. ^ Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training website Labor Situation in Japan and Analysis: 2009/2010 Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 10 June 2011
  10. ^ Dolan, R. E. & Worden, R. L. (Eds.). Japan: A Country Study. Labor Unions, Employment and Labor Relations. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1994. Retrieved 12 June 2011