Coping with the Miracle: Japan's Unions Explore New International Relations.

In assessing Rengo's (Japanese Trade Union Confederation) actions since its 1991 commitment to promote human and trade union rights in Asia, Hugh Williamson concludes: "Its implementation of this commitment can only be defined as partial," (p. 289). This diplomatic yet critical tone characterizes Williamson's assessment of the international policies of Japan's unions. His essential message: Japan's unions should and can do more to develop international solidarity and to support independent unionism, in Asia in particular. In his realistic yet hopeful appraisal, Williamson has produced not only a finely balanced work but one that is substantive in detail and comprehensive in scope.

The first chapters sketch a concise and fairly accurate portrait of the tumultuous postwar period of union growth and schism and the subsequent impact on unions' foreign affairs outlook. The author then examines contemporary international activities of national union centres (particularly Rengo), of private and public sector union federations, and of the Japan International Labour Foundation. Not confining himself to unions, Williamson also touches on the role of the Ministry of Labour; the Japan Productivity Centre, Japan Institute of Labour, and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This inclusive approach provides the reader with a multi-dimensional appreciation for the subject area.

The book does not pull any punches when examining the darker side to Japanese unions' activities abroad. In his examination of three case studies of Asian workers fighting Japanese transnationals (Sumida workers in Korea; Hitachi workers in Malaysia; Thai metal workers), Williamson documents the token or limited support, and in some cases hostility, received from counterpart unions in Japan. These accounts ring true. My own research revealed that in 1991, Mazda workers in Flat Rock, Michigan (organized in the U.A.W.) requested the Mazda union in Japan for assistance in organizing Delta USA Corporation, a Japanese company employing 120 people that supplied seats for the Mazda plant in Flat Rock. The U.A.W. local received no help and in fact the union in Japan, with Mazda as the intermediary, ended up talking about their response with the U.S. management lawyer blocking the certification drive in the U.S. rather than talking with the U.A.W.

On the other hand, Williamson also documents positive examples of international solidarity, including the support of the textile workers union in Japan (Zensen) for 60 restaurant workers employed by a subsidiary of Kyotaru, a Japanese transnational corporation providing food services at the U.N. headquarters in New York. Kyotaru fired the workers when they struck for union recognition in 1991, but through concerted pressure by unions in the U.S. and Japan the workers were re-instated and won union recognition.

The book correctly focuses on the scale of Japanese union involvement in Asia. Rengo today provides about 80-90 percent of the budget for the ICFTU's Asian branch, the Asian & Pacific Regional Organization (APRO). A whole chapter is dedicated to the history and workings of the Japan International Labour Foundation (JILAF). Created in 1989 as part of the movement to form Rengo itself, JILAF is a non-governmental organization devoted to promoting international labour cooperation at the grassroots level. JILAF's main activities include hosting unionists from southern countries (mainly from Asia) on educational visits to Japan. JILAF also organizes educational seminars in conjunction with APRO or the ICFTU. The author's unique contacts in the region allowed him to include interviews with Asian trade unionists who had participated in JILAF programs thus providing a balanced account of the effectiveness of JILAF activities.

Williamson includes a refreshing chapter on the international affairs of public sector unions in Japan. For example, in 1991 under the auspices of the Mutual Understanding of the Peoples in Asian Countries (MUPAC) program sponsored by Jichiro (the public sector union representing one million local government workers), 460 public sector unionists participated in a ten-day educational tour to the Philippines. Chartering a ship, the unionists took educational courses on the way to the Philippines and then visited with unions, womens' and farmers' organizations of various affiliations in different regions of the country. Such anecdotes breathe life into what otherwise could become a rather dry subject.

Like any book, this one has its flaws. Sources are mainly English and the book's layout could have been better. In a more serious vein, Williamson, like many others, attributes the problems in Japan's labour movement to "enterprise unions." This term, much used and abused, refers to the fact that most unions in Japan are organized company-by-company. In fact, enterprise unions are often referred to as one of the "three pillars" of Japanese industrial relations (along with permanent employment and seniority-based wages). As I pointed out in Japan Works: Power and Paradox in Postwar Industrial Relations (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1996), the enterprise basis of Japan's unions is not substantively different than that of unions in Canada or the U.S. This is not to deny that many unions in Japan identify closely with their company. But such identification, and policies that flow from it, be they foreign affairs or otherwise, are in fact issues of policy and ideology, not organization.

Williamson correctly perceives that the situation within Japan's unions is fluid. Recently Rengo and its affiliates have been willing to work more closely with the ICFTU and its associated bodies. In June 1992, the Hitachi union federation and Rengo both supported an International Metal-workers' Federation demand that Malaysia be suspended from the ILO. Furthermore, the unions at Toyota convened an international meeting of Toyota workers as an IMF function. In other words, Rengo and its affiliates are sensitive to the necessity of working with the official international labour movement. Given the situation in Japan and the post-Cold War alterations in alignments, this is an important entree for developing international solidarity.

Williamson has a postgraduate degree in industrial relations from the London School of Economics and has spent considerable time as an investigative labour journalist in Asia. Tackling the task of documenting Japanese unions' international policies is daunting and Williamson's determination in pursuing this study reflects the growing recognition in Asia of the significant role that Japan's unions are taking on in that region. Without losing its critical edge, the book obliges the reader to abandon any simplistic preconceptions about Japan's unions. In so doing, Williamson has made a valuable contribution not only to knowledge but to education. The book challenges academics and unionists alike, particularly in North America and Europe, to incorporate the voluminous materials presented into a more comprehensive view of the emerging Asia-Pacific region. For Japan's unions, this volume provides a third party appraisal of their international activities from which they may learn much about how they are regarded abroad.

JOHN PRICE University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada