The Evolution of Enterprise Unionism in Japan: A Socio‐Political Perspective

Abstract

This article proposes an alternative framework for understanding enterprise unionism by emphasizing political dynamics and the role of the state in labour relations. Our framework delineates the strategic behaviour patterns of each of the tripartite IR actors under collective bargaining. It maintains that the initial period of the collective bargaining era constituted a critical juncture for state labour policy that occurred in distinctive ways in different countries and that these differences played a central role in shaping the different union structures in the following decades. Our historical analysis shows that unlike its Western counterparts, the Japanese state was able to eradicate the horizontal union movement at the onset of the collective bargaining era because of its advantages as a late developer and Cold War politics, which resulted in enterprise unionism in Japan. Copyright (c) Blackwell Publishing Ltd/London School of Economics 2008.

Between Late-Industrialisation and Globalisation: The Hybridisation of Labour Relations among Leading South Korean Firms

“…The post-Cold War conditions did not allow the newly democratised Korean state to suppress labour in order to impose a 1950s Japanese-style of pro-business unionism (that provided the basis for the emergence of industrial citizenship based on moderate enterprise unions) (Jeong and Aguilera 2008). Another aspect of timing was the rapid shift of the economic agenda during the mid-1990s, from redistribution within the late-industrialisation model to conformance with the stringent liberalising requirements of WTO (1995) and OECD (1996) membership.…”

The Fall of the Family-State and Rise of the Enterprise Society: Family as Ideology and Site of Conservative Power in Modern Japan

“…As Gordon (1997) writes, "the [New Life Movement] worked to preempt or prevent the possibility that home and family would support alternative values to those of enterprise" (p. 259) and ensured that they "would not support radical unions" (p. 261). As a result, the truly labour-based, leftist unions that had gained momentum in the immediate postwar period would be effectively neutered by corporate-friendly "enterprise unions," a dynamic that would continue in Japan to this day (Jeong & Aguilera, 2008). As such, the New Life Movement would very much fulfill the purposes indirectly set out for Japan's conservatives by MacArthur and SCAP.…”

Inclusion of ‘Outsiders’ by Japanese Unions? The Organizing of Non-Regular Workers in Retail

“…A first major issue concerns the dominance of enterprise unions. They are affiliated to industrial federations and national confederations but keep the major share of union dues, provide the majority of officials and hold the main decision-making powers within the overall union structure (Jeong and Aguilera, 2008). This dominance has strongly shaped the identity of Japanese unionism as the enterprise unions are known for their strong cooperation with management out of the mutual understanding that they ‘are in the same boat and the survival or prosperity is the ultimate goal’ (Suzuki, 2004: 15).…”

“…Moreover, membership is often almost complete as union shop agreements tend to imply that joining is ‘a fairly automatic and natural action’ (Tachibanaki and Noda, 2000: 27). Non-regular workers, instead, were not considered potential members but ‘outsiders’ to the firm community and an employment buffer that supports survival during difficult times (Jeong and Aguilera, 2008; Urano and Stewart, 2007; Weathers, 2010). The unionization rate among non-regular workers, a mere 2.5% as late as 1999, is indicative (JILPT, 2005: 21).…”

“…They are increasingly trying to represent these workers but former strategies of exclusion and the inherent characteristics of much non-regular work has hindered progress. This challenge also holds for Japan where inclusion is often restricted by the prevalence of enterprise unions and their exclusive commitment to regular workers ( seishain ) as members of the firm ‘community’ (Jeong and Aguilera, 2008; Urano and Stewart, 2007; Weathers, 2010). Japanese unions have therefore been argued to contribute to the existing labour market dualism rather than to its solution (e.g.…”