 | This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: this article is largely missing information about this topic from 1991 onward. (September 2023) |
| National organization(s) | Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) |
|---|---|
| Regulatory authority | Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare |
| Primary legislation | Labour Union Law (Act. No. 51, Dec 1945) Labour Relations Adjustment Law (1946) |
| Total union membership | 10,238,187[2] |
| Percentage of workforce unionized | 16.3% (2023)[3] |
| International Labour Organization | |
| Japan is a member of the ILO | |
| Convention ratification | |
| Freedom of Association | 14 June 1965 |
| Right to Organise | 20 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.
- ^ Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training. Labor Laws of Japan. Archived 2011-05-25 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 11 June 2011
- ^ Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. Labour Unions and Membership (1945-2005). Retrieved 10 June 2011
- ^ a b Japan International Labour Foundation website on 2023 Basic Survey of Trade Unions [1]
- ^ a b Nimura, K. The Formation of Japanese Labor Movement: 1868-1914 (Translated by Terry Boardman). Retrieved 11 June 2011
- ^ a b c Cross Currents. Labor unions in Japan. CULCON. Retrieved 11 June 2011
- ^ Weathers, C. (2009). Business and Labor. In William M. Tsutsui, ed., A Companion to Japanese History (2009) pp. 493-510.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Jung, L. (30 March 2011). National Labour Law Profile: Japan. ILO. Retrieved 10 June 2011
- ^ 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
- ^ 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