Visiting Scholars Program

On Wednesday, May 8th of this year, the scholars were featured as special presenters as part of the Henning Center's colloquim series on international labor issues. The following are notes of interest from their talk:

Yosuke Inoue discussed the general negotiating process used by most Japanese enterprise-based unions. Contract bargaining is typically built around what is called the "spring offensive," held yearly between April and February. This standardization of contract dialogue, he reported, tends to improve the negotiating position of each union by linking their campaigns to a coordinated push for increased wages at a national level. These negotiations may also include everything from working hours to retirement pay. Through routinized dialogue with managers, Japanese unions strive to determine an industry-specific outline for working conditions. Yosuke's applied research concerns developing improved strategies for future spring offensives.

Chifumi Kawasaki discussed the gendered division of labor in Japan. She reported that, according to a survey by the Institute of NHK, labor roles differ more by gender in Japan than in any other industrial country studied, with the burden of domestic labor falling overwhelmingly on women. The report concluded that women spend an average of only 9 minutes a day in formal employment versus 3 hours and 29 minutes performing housework. By contrast, Japanese men spend, on average, 8 hours and 22 minutes at work - the longest daily formal work regimen of any country studied - and only 31 minutes performing housework - the least amount of time in any country studied. Women tend to leave their jobs in order to fulfill what is seen as their primary responsibility in marriage, raising children and managing a household. At work, they receive comparatively disadvantageous treatment in hiring, ranking, welfare facilities, education, training, and promotion. Various recent efforts, including the revised Equal Opportunity Law and Child-care Leave Law, have sought to remove current barriers from women's career paths. Unions have also made increased efforts to welcome women into leadership roles, though these efforts have thus far met with limited success.

Takeshi Matsuo discussed the comprehensive education program that his union, Fujitsu Workers Union, has adopted. The program includes tailored training and education components for each level of the union. Training for union officials, held annually, are designed to build skills in areas such as long-term planning and corporate research, and to increase participants' general knowledge of governmental issues. Programs for shop-stewards, held a few times a year, expand participants knowledge of the structure and goals of the union movement, build leadership skills, and develop improved understanding of their daily union activities. Finally, training and education programs for union members, held annually at each local, orient new members to the union and its services. The program also includes a five-stage "life planning seminar," designed to assist members at the ages of 25, 35, 45, 50, and 56 years-old in developing long-term strategies for personal growth, pension and retirement allowance, and health. Takeshi is currently studying how other unions use labor education to counter apathy among union members.