A Brief Review of the Labour Movement in Japan/Part 2/Chapter 3
CHAPTER III.
Amazing Growth of New Unions, a Series of Great Strikes.
Sabotages.
(1919).
Such a growing intensity of industrial disputes gave a fresh impetus to the Trade Union movement—both to the reorganisation of the existing unions and the creation of new unions.
1. Reorganisation.
As early as 1919, we saw that the „Yuai-kai“ had already recovered from one year's sickness and a new movement to reconstruct its constitution had appeared with a definite form. Membership and branches began to increase. In April all local Committees in the Western district (Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto) formed a big District Council, publishing a local journal. In September the National Conference of the Yuai-kai decided to reconstruct it on the lines similar to „One Big Union“, which was more definitely assured by the 1920 Conference.
At the same time, hostility against its president, Suzuki, on the ground of his opportunism and reformism, has emerged from inside. It is certain that a new spirit, a new (left-wing) section was being born and the power of leading the Yuai-kai has been transfered from the old reformist to the new revolutionary leader.
This fact will be seen in. a series of devoted struggles by the Yuai-kai during the following months.
Also the „Shinyu-kai“ of printers healed wounds which were resceived in the „Rice Riot“, and prepared in May for a fight for increased wages and an eight hours day.
In May the „Association for Conducting Trade Union“ was reorganised in the „Osaka Iron Workers' Union“, one of the biggest metal workers' Unions in Osaka.
2. Up till July.
As there had been before this year no other Unions than the above organisations, most strikes had been either led by the temporary strike committee or left without organisation. But experiences of strikes have always stimulated the spirit of combination. Already the time of unorganised strikes passed.
Since early 1919 there were a continuation of strikes and attempts at organising new unions among printing workers apart from the old Shinyu-kai. As a result, the „Reform Society“ was formed in July by printers employed in 15 daily paper printing offices in Tokyo. As soon as it came into being, it ordered a general strike and completely stopped the publication of all papers in the Metropolis for five days. But the strike aided by some middle class politicians broke from inside, and the Society pitifully fell to pieces.
Up till July we saw also the appearance of metal workers' and dockers' Unions in Tokyo, Osaka and districts, but the majority of them were very short lived. {{dhr]}
3. August.
Six months from August 1919 to January 1920 marks new epoch in the Japanesse Trade Union movement. During this period Japan faced the great social upheavals, a mushroom growth of Unions, penetrating into the less industrial towns and the less skilled workers.
It is, however, to be remembered that along with the creation of real fighting bodies there increased such Unions as (1) Black-leg Union to keep away the employees from the real Union or to crush down the already existing body; 2) Yellow Union utilised by middle class politicians for their political ambition; 3) For the electoral purpose of the Labour Delegate on the Washington International Labour Conference.
In Aug. the „Koishikawa Labour Society“ (12,000) was established by workers of the Tokyo Ordnance Factory, and soon challenged the authority demanding the recognition of the Union, an eight hours day and higher wages. Backed by the sympathetic „down-tools“ of workers of other government factories, the strike continued for about ten days. Against this, the government called out gendarms, dismissed a large number of strikers and at last arrested 23 leaders. The Society was completely beaten, however surviving till now.
A result of this fight gave birth to two Unions. One is the „Jujo-kai“ of employees of military powder mill who waged the sympathetic strike, and the other is the black-leg Union, called the „Kojo-kai“ spreading now to important government workshops over the country.
In this month, more important Unions appeared to exist. The „Transport Workers Union“ of tramway employees in Tokyo which challenged so-called „citizen“ with a general stoppage of city transportation early in 1920; the „Miners Society“, a strong Union in the northern colliery field of Kyushu; the "Miners Federation of Japan" (5,000) at Ashio copper mine. The last Union succeeded in creating a branch at Kamaishi iron mine and later carried on desperate strikes.
Also printing workers Unions sprang up rapidly in several important towns (e. g. in Osaka. Kobe, Kyoto, Kure, Hiroshima,) of which the most important one is the „Taishin-kai“ in Tokyo.
4. Agitation against the Labour Delegate to Washington International Labour Conference.
In Sept. the Japanese Proletariat experienced three momentous events. In the first place, the Yuai-kai, throwing away its former opportnuist mantle, acomplished complete reconstruction. The second event is the great „sabotage“ in Kobe with which I shall deal later.
The third occurrence arose from the election by the government of a former Director of a big shipbuilding firm as a Labour Delegate to the Washington International Labour Conference to be held in October. Against this nonsensical measure all the working classes rose up spontantaneously and instictively; huge demonstration after demonstration, violent protest after protest. Many arrests of agitators; threats to the life of the Labour Delegate. For a while the whole of the workers seemed to have become mad. In spite of the opposition of all workers, however, this absurd Delegate sailed in secret for Washington. For what? In order to entreat a Special treatment for Japanese workers, that is to say, in order to continue the present sweating system, to let men and women toil for more than eight hours a day. And the Washington Conference granted this to him.
The tactics which the organised workers (led by the Yuai-kai, the Shinyu-kai, the Miners' Federation) took in the agitation is worthy of note. From the very beginning they boycotted the election of the government, and strove to ummask the true nature of the League of Nations and the International Labour Conference, and also openly propagated before the masses that the government is nothing more than the executive committee of the robber class. Japanese workers have begun to doubt, What is the State, What is the Government. Thanks are due to the stupid government and the Black-leg International Labour Conference, without which the working class might not obtain such a mental change.
More than that; the temporary unity of Unions against the government served above all as a bond to combine them permanently, which resulted in the next year in the formation of „Federation of Trade Unions“, Tokyo.
5. Trade Unions, September–December.
A no less important result gained from this event was that the government was compelled to call upon each representative of five Unions (Yuai-kai, Shinyu-kai, Osaka Iron Workers' Union, and two yellow Unions), to the electoral Meeting of the Labour Delegate under the direct superintendence of the government; however, they boycotted it. This recognition of Trade Unionism by the government extremely instigated the creation of new organisations. It was in the period of four months from October that the workers' combination movement attained its zenith.
Among metal workers, tho following Unions were founded: the „Kojin-kai (Artisans' Fraternal Society)“ consisting of workers of the Tsukiji Naval Arsenal iu Tokyo (in October); the „Japanese Labour Fraternal Society“ of the Yawata Iron Foundry (in October); the „Mechanicians' Union“ of engineers employed in several workshops in Tokyo (December), etc.
In the printing industry, the „Seishin-kai“, one of the militant Unions, was organised by those defeated in the general strike of July in Tokyo.
In this period, the association extended from factory to out-door workers, and from manual to brain workers. For instance: dockers' and carriers' Union in Osaka. Tokyo, Yokahama, Nogoya; agricultural workers' Unions in Tamba, Tokyo; tailors' Union in Tokyo; dyers' Unions in Osaka, Kyoto; carpenters' and cabinet makers' Unions in Tokyo, Osaka; postal workers' Union in Tokyo; clerks' Unions in Tokyo.
On the other hand, yellow and black-leg Unions rapidly increased everywhere. Most of them takes the form of the workshop committee, openly or in secret, helped or created by the employer, both for the purpose of „promoting the intimate relation between master and employee“, and of smashing the real workers' Union from within. First of all, the „Kokusui-kai“ (Nationality Society) is the one typical of such disgraceful bodies. It was formed in December by out-door workers, led by political underlings, under the auspices of the Minister of Interior. This is the curious coincidence with the „Okhrana“ Union in Russia early this century. But the Japanese „Okhrana“ has been rendering better service to its patron than to Russian. In February 1920, it did its best to break the great strike in the Yawata Iron Foundry, and now is making a bloody counter agitation against the Socialist and Communist movements.
6. Industrial Battle Field, September–December.
With the rapid development of the workers' fighting bodies, strikes of large scale and long duration broke out in many industrial cities. On the other hand, the holy Tripple Alliance of employers, the government and militarists was not meanwhile idle, and was preparing for the bloody oppression against any revolts. Besides that, the economic condition stood on the verge of crisis since the summer of the year. The workers fight became more and more bitter than ever.
In September the first organised (peaceful) „sabotage“ carried on by all the workers (15,000) employed in the Kawasaki Dockyard in Kobe. Being led by the Yuai-kai this ended in complete victory of the men after two weeks fight, and also demonstrated a new fighting weapon to the Japanese workers. Since then the peaceful „sabotage“ or „go-easy“ has become one of the popular methods of fighting, because it is safe from the Police Law which has been yearly throwing hundreds of „strike instigators“ into prison.
October, the Shinyu-kai of printers proclaimed a new campaign for an eight hours day, bringing forward the demand to all printing firms (about 160) in Tokyo and other towns. The majority of employers having rejected the demand, strike or sabotage began in one shop after another. Against this, the employers who strongly combined into a body (the „Tokyo Printing Trade Association“) answered with lock-out, threat of discharge, black-leg, bribe, etc. A chaotic condition in the printing industry continued for more than three weeks. But the victory was not on the strikers. The Shinyu-kai was badly hit again.
This defeat was but a signal for the wholesale collapse of labour disputes in the following months. In November the most vehement battles simultaneously took place in three mining fields in the northern district of Japan. The first two were the strikes for increased wages and improvement of working conditions, conducted by the Miners' Federation of Japan, at Kamaishi iron and Ashio copper mines; the third was the demonstration against the dismissal of leading members of the Yuai-kai at Hidachi copper mine. In Japan, as elsewhere, mining areas are almost, isolated from the „external world“ owing to their geographical situation, and consequently are under the absolute monarchy of the mine-owner. All things in mining district from the food to the police force, are entirely at the will of the modern King. Therefore, the miners' fight is always far more fierce than other workers, abounding in revolutionary colour. For instance, at the strike of Kamaishi, strikers were enveloped by a considerable number of police-men, gendarms, and at last two companies of military forces, with arrests of 37 leaders. A similar fate was on the fighters of Ashio and Hidachi; in the former case 23 and in the latter 17 were arrested. Three disputes fell almost at once in a rout of the miners.
In such an oppressive and ominous atmosphere the historic yea 1919 closed.