Japan 1890-1900

Synopsis

As Japan industrialized, many attempts were made to set up unions and a labor movement of one kind or another. In 1890 Takano Fusataro and his Japanese colleagues set up a study group in the United States known as the Japanese Knights of Labor. Once back in Japan in July 1897, they established the Society to Promote Trade Unions, which was a form of trade union school.

In December 1897 the Metalworkers' Union was formed, and in March 1898 the Japan Railway Company followed suit. Tokyo printers, ship carpenters, plasterers, furniture-makers, and doll-makers subsequently organized other unions. By 1899 problems were already appearing. The number of industrial workers had declined, some workers were losing interest, and the number of strikes was declining. Moreover, Takano was no longer coordinating matters at the society. The organizational and social barriers to worker unity were also...