All-Japan Trade Union Congress
The All-Japan Trade Union Congress (Japanese: 全日本労働組合会議), better known by its Japanese abbreviation Zenrō) was a national trade union federation that existed in Japan from 1954 to 1964.
History
Zenrō was established in 1954 by a number of unions on the right-wing of the trade union movement, who had become unhappy with the increasingly left-wing political stance of the General Council of Trade Unions of Japan (Sōhyō) under the leadership of its militant secretary-general Minoru Takano.[1] Politically speaking, Zenrō was tied closely to the Right Socialist Party (RSP), to whom it provided electoral support, and following the reunification of the Japan Socialist Party (JSP) in 1955, supported the former RSP factions in the new party, especially the far-right faction led by Suehiro Nishio.[2]
Although Zenrō generally shied away from political actions and even purely economic strikes, preferring a more conciliatory relationship with management, the federation did participate in the successful struggle in 1958 to defeat the revision of the Police Duties Bill proposed by conservative prime minister Nobusuke Kishi, which opponents were able to portray as less of a left-right issue and more of a basic threat to Japanese democracy and civil rights.[3]
However, Zenrō was less enthusiastic about supporting the 1960 Anpo protests against the US-Japan Security Treaty, and ultimately pulled out of the movement when the JSP insisted that the Japan Communist Party be allowed to participate. This controversial decision also caused Nishio and the other right socialists to bolt the JSP and form the new Democratic Socialist Party, which Zenrō thereafter supported. Not that the left socialists and Sōhyō were necessarily sorry to see Zenrō and Nishio gone, as Zenrō had purchased Sōhyō's enmity by repeatedly attempting to hive off Zenrō-affiliated "second unions" within Sōhyō-controlled shop floors.[4]
In 1964, Zenrō merged with the National Council of Government and Public Workers' Unions (Zenkankō) and the Japanese Federation of Labour (Sōdōmei), to form the Japanese Confederation of Labour, better known as Dōmei.[5]
Affiliates
The following unions were affiliated in 1956.[6]
| Name | Abbreviation | Membership (1956) |
|---|---|---|
| All-Japan Seamen's Union | Kaiin | 83,693 |
| Chubu Electric Power Workers' Union | Chubu Denro | 16,000 |
| Chugoku Electric Power Workers' Union | Chugoku Denro | 9,089 |
| Federation of Japan Automobile Workers' Unions | Jidosha Roren | 12,000 |
| Japanese Federation of Labour | Sodomei | 420,000 |
| Japan Garrison Forces Workers' Union | Nitchuro | 25,000 |
| Kansai Electric Power Workers' Union | Kansai Denro | 22,300 |
| National Cinema and Theatre Workers' Union | Zen Eien | 2,700 |
| National Federation of Textile Industry Workers' Unions | Zensendomei | 320,000 |
| Shikoku Electric Power Workers' Union | Shikoku Denro | 5,816 |
| Tohoku Electric Power Workers' Union | Tohoku Denro | 14,089 |
Leadership
- President: Minoru Takita
- General Secretary: Haruo Wada
References
Citations
- Kapur 2018, p. 137.
- Kapur 2018, p. 109.
- Kapur 2018, pp. 18, 109.
- Kapur 2018, p. 110.
- Chaffee, Frederick H. (1969). Area Handbook for Japan. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
- Mitchell, James P. (1956). Directory of International Trade Union Organizations. Washington DC: United States Department of Labor.
Works cited
- Kapur, Nick (2018). Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674984424.