Politics and the Japanese Labor Movement

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how the national labor movement of Japan has traditionally been controlled by the nation's political factions. The writer describes the plight of Japanese workers in modern times, as labor unions that served the needs of management rather than the workers were created. The writer also discusses the rise of a national labor organization called Rengo in the 1990s in response to the control of the employee unions by political factions. However, the political entities within the nation reacted by creating a "union" that sought to end the efforts of the national labor movement and force the maintenance of policies that were intended to continue to oppress the workers of Japan.

From the Paper:

"According to Oaks "Japanese workers have failed to achieve labor rights that are standard fare throughout the developed world" (para. 4). In the 1980s it was evident that workers in Japan were faced with 46-48 hour days with no benefits, such as sick leave and a social security system for their retirement (Oaks para. 5). Oaks reported that regardless of the fact that the salaries that Japanese workers earned were comparable to workers in the United States, the ability of the Japanese worker to provide for his family was more difficult because of the increased cost of living (para. 6). The labor movement in Japan has continuously fought for worker rights that would address these problems. However, even when the government or political realm agrees to make changes to policy, those changes are generally masked by conditions of change that alleviate the actual policy from making a difference."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Japan's labor force may shrink to two thirds in 2050: White paper. Japan Today. 2008. 10 April 2008 <http://www.japantoday.com/category/business/view/japans-labor-force-may-shrink-to-two-thirds-in-2050-white-paper>
• Oaks, H. "Labor Left Behind". Multinational Monitor. 1988. 10 April 2008. <http://www.multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/issues/1988/11/mm1188_09.html>

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