Japanese Federation of Labour

The Japanese Federation of Labour (Japanese: 日本労働組合総同盟 Nippon Rōdō Kumiai Sōdōmei) was a national trade union federation in Japan.

The federation was established in 1946, principally through the efforts of trade unionists who had been involved in the pre-war Japanese Labour Federation. The new federation aligned itself with the Japan Socialist Party.[1] By 1948, it claimed a total of 924,302 members, slightly less than its communist rival, Sanbetsu.[2]

In 1950, many affiliates left to join the new General Council of Trade Unions of Japan, and by 1954, membership of Sodomei affiliates had fallen to 240,000. That year, many of its remaining affiliates split away to join the new All-Japan Trade Union Congress (Zenro), the surviving Sodomei being a small, conservative group with seven affiliates. In 1964, it merged with Zenro and the National Council of Government and Public Workers' Unions, to form the Japanese Confederation of Labour.[3][4]

Affiliates

The following unions were affiliated in 1945:[5]

UnionAbbreviation
National Textile Industry Labor Union AllianceZensendomei
National Metal Industry Labor Union AllianceZenkindomei
National Chemical Industry Labor Union AllianceKagakudomei
National Timber Industry Labor Union Alliance
National Food Industry Trade Union AllianceZenkoku Shokuhin
National Armed Forces Labor Union AllianceZenchuro
Kanto Transport Labor Union Alliance
Japan Mining Labor UnionNikko
National Monopoly Bureau Labor UnionZensenbai
Japan Medical Corps Staff Union General Union
Japan Urban Transportation Labor Union FederationToshiko
National Printing Industry Labor Union AllianceZeninsatsu
National Federation of Labor UnionsZenkokudoken

The following unions were later affiliates:

AbbreviationUnionFoundedLeftReason leftMembership (1958)[6]
Zenka DomeiNational Federation of Chemical Workers19511964Transferred to Domei31,801
Zen Doken DomeiNational Federation of Construction Workers' Unions1,462
Zen Shokuhin DomeiNational Federation of Food Industry Workers' Unions19471964Transferred to Domei13,800
Kowan JyunbikaiPreparatory Committee of National Federation of Harbour Workers' UnionsTransferred to Domei1,916
Shin Mitsubishi JyukoShin Mitsubishi Heavy Industry Workers' Union1964Transferred to Domei22,314
Zenkin DomeiNational Federation of Metal Industry Workers' Unions19511964Transferred to Domei64,043
Zen TankoNational Coal Mine Workers' Union19521964Transferred to Domei44,604
Sodomei Ken RengokaiPrefectural Associations of Sodomei35,574
Zosen SorenNational Federation of Shipbuilding Workers' Unions19511964Transferred to Domei28,462
Zen Koun DomeiNational Federation of Transport Workers' Unions1964Merged into Kotsuroren6,059

Presidents
1946: Komakichi Matsuoka
1952: Yonekichi Kim
1959: Masashichi Motoi

References
  1. Nimura, Kazuo. "The Labor Union Movement at the Beginnings of Post-WWII Society in Japan". Kazuo Nimura. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. Moran, William T. (1949). "Labor Unions in Postwar Japan". Far Eastern Survey. 18 (21).
  3. Levine, Solomon B. (1954). "Prospects of Japanese Labor". Far Eastern Survey. 23 (5).
  4. Chaffee, Frederick H. (1969). Area Handbook for Japan. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  5. The Labour Year Book of Japan (PDF). 1945. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  6. Mitchell, James P. (1958). Director of Labor Organizations: Asia and Australasia. Washington DC: United States Department of Labor.


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