Co-op Kobe ( ja, コープこうべ), officially known as Consumer Co-operative Kobe, is a
consumers' cooperative
A consumers' co-operative is an enterprise owned by consumers and managed democratically and that aims at fulfilling the needs and aspirations of its members. Such co-operatives operate within the market system, independently of the state, as a f ...
based in
Kobe,
Japan. It was founded in 1921 by
Toyohiko Kagawa
was a Japanese Protestant Christian pacifist, Christian reformer, and labour activist. Kagawa wrote, spoke, and worked at length on ways to employ Christian principles in the ordering of society and in cooperatives. His vocation to help the ...
, and was later merged with Nada Consumer Co-operative. Now, with over 1.2 million members, it is the largest consumers' cooperative in the world.
External links
* http://www.coop-kobe.net/
* http://jccu.coop/eng/aboutus/history.php
{{Authority control
Consumers' cooperatives
Cooperatives in Japan
Organizations based in Kobe
Organizations based in Hyōgo Prefecture