, abbreviated , is Japan's largest and oldest

labor union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

of teachers and school staff. The union is known for its critical stance against the conservative Liberal Democratic Party government on such issues as ''

Kimigayo is the national anthem of Japan. The lyrics are from a ' poem written by an unnamed author in the Heian period (794–1185), and the current melody was chosen in 1880, replacing an unpopular melody composed by John William Fenton eleven years e ...

'' (the national anthem), the

Flag of Japan The national flag of Japan is a rectangular white banner bearing a crimson-red circle at its center. This flag is officially called the , but is more commonly known in Japan as the . It embodies the country's sobriquet: the Land of the Rising S ...

, and the screening of

history textbooks Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians hav ...

since its near continuous one-party rule since 1945. It is affiliated to the trade union confederation

Rengo The , commonly known as , is the largest national trade union center in Japan, with over six million members as of 2011.Rengo websitRengo brochure 2010-2011 Retrieved on July 6, 2012 It was founded in 1989 as a result of the merger of the Japan ...

. It had 290,857 members as of December 2009.Rengo websit
Rengo brochure 2010-2011
Retrieved on July 6, 2012

History

Established in 1947, it was the largest teachers union until a split in the late 1980s. The union functioned as a national federation of prefectural teachers unions, although each of these unions had considerable autonomy and its own strengths and political orientation. Historically, there had been considerable antagonism between the union and the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

, owing to a variety of factors. Some were political, because the stance of the union had been strongly

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

and it often opposed the more conservative Liberal Democratic Party. Another factor was the trade union perspective that the teachers union had on the profession of teaching. Additional differences on education issues concerned training requirements for new teachers,

decentralization Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group. Conce ...

in education, school autonomy,

curricula In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...

, textbook censorship, and, in the late 1980s, the reform movement.

Karel van Wolferen Karel van Wolferen (born 1941) is a Dutch journalist, writer and professor, who is particularly recognised for his knowledge of Japanese politics, economics, history and culture. Career as journalist, writer and academic After finishing high sch ...

describes the historical clashes between the Ministry of Education and the Union in ''

The Enigma of Japanese Power ''The Enigma of Japanese Power'' is a political textbook by Karel van Wolferen. The book was written in 1989, and is a critical account of the business, social, and political structure of Japan. The title of the book addresses the mystery and awe ...

'' (e.g., former Ministers coming from the Naimusho "Thought Police" of the 1930s, using thugs to systematically attack Union members and union meetings and eliminate elected Boards of Education). The union tended to support the

Japan Socialist Party The was a socialist and progressive political party in Japan that existed from 1945 to 1996. The party was founded as the Social Democratic Party of Japan by members of several proletarian parties that existed before World War II, including ...

, while a minority faction supported the

Japanese Communist Party The is a left-wing to far-left political party in Japan. With approximately 270,000 members belonging to 18,000 branches, it is one of the largest non-governing communist parties in the world. The party advocates the establishment of a democr ...

. In the late 1980s, internal disagreements in the Japan Teachers Union on political orientation and on the union's relationships to other national labor organizations finally caused a rupture. The union thus became less effective than in previous years at a time when the national government and the Ministry were moving ahead on reform issues. The union had opposed many reforms proposed or instituted by the ministry, but it failed to forestall changes in certification and teacher training, two issues on which it was often at odds with the government. The new union leadership that emerged after several years of internal discord seemed to take a more conciliatory approach to the ministry and reform issues, but the union's future directions were not clear. The

National Union of General Workers The National Union of General Workers is the name of: * National Union of General Workers (Sohyo), a former trade union in Japan * National Union of General Workers (Zenrokyo) The National Union of General Workers (NUGW) is the shortened, Engl ...

(Zenkoku Ippan Rodo Kumiai) serves as the largest union representing foreign and migrant education workers in Japan.

Presidents

:1947: Araki Shozaburo :1950: Oka Saburo :1952: Takeshi Kobayashi :1962: Miyanohara Sadamitsu :1971:

Motofumi Makieda Motofumi Makieda ( ja, 槙枝元文, 4 March 1921 – 4 December 2010) was a Japanese people, Japanese trade union leader. Makieda qualified as a teacher during World War II, then taught at a junior high school. After the war, he was a foundin ...

:1983: Shoju Ohba :1990s: :2004: Yasuo Morikoshi :2008: Yuzuru Nakamura :2012: Ryosuke Kato

References

*
Japan

External links

Japan Teachers Union Homepage (in Japanese)National Union of General Workers (in English)University Teachers Union (in English)
{{Authority control Trade unions in Japan Education in Japan Education trade unions Trade unions established in 1947 Teaching in Japan

History

Presidents

See also

References

External links