Hyōgikai
Encyclopedia
was a trade union
centre in Japan
which operated from 1920.
Hyōgikai was founded at a conference in Kobe
on May 24–27, 1925. As of late 1925, Hyōgikai had 59 affiliated trade unions and around 35,000 members. The organization was affiliated with the Pan Pacific Trade Union Secretariat
. When the organization was crushed in a government crackdown in the spring of 1928, it had 11 regional councils, 82 affiliated unions and around 23,000 members.
Ritsuta Noda
was elected Hyōgikai chairman at the Kobe meeting. A 17-member Central Committee
was formed. Noda was not a communist, but communists played a dominant role in the Central Committee. Prominent communist Central Committee members were Nabeyama, Yamamoto, Taniguchi and Mitamuro Shiro. Hyōgikai appealed to Sodomei to unite all trade unions in a single national federation, a proposal which Sodomei rejected. In response, Hyōgikai denounced the Sodomei leadership as 'bureaucratic' and 'right wing'.
Both Hyōgikai and Sodomei took part in the discussions on the formation of a joint legal proletarian party. The two sides submitted their own drafts for a party platform. On November 29, 1925, Sodomei withdrew from the party-building process, stating that it would not be part of any party which included Hyōgikai. In response Hyōgikai also pulled out of the party-building process the following day, in order not to obstruct the creation of a broad-based proletarian party. In the end, the short-lived Farmer-Labour Party was founded in December 1925.
When the Labour-Farmer Party
was founded in March 1926 (by Sodomei and others), Hyōgikai members were barred from becoming members of the party. However, this policy was relaxed after internal disagreements in the party, resulting in the withdrawal of Sodomei from the party and the establishment of a close relation between Hyōgikai and the party.
in 1926. In that year, around 5,000 Hyōgikai activists were detained by police and 196 were imprisoned for having organized strikes.
The third convention of Hyōgikai, held in May 1927, adopted a new platform. Focus was shifted to economic issues, on 'concrete immediate demands of the workers'. Demands raised included the struggle for 8-hour working day. Around the country, which suffered from economic crisis at the time, Hyōgikai was busy forming labour councils together with other trade unions at major factories.
The organizational structure of Hyōgikai was severely weakened by the mass arrests of March 15, 1928
. An effort to rebuild the organization was initiated, but Hyōgikai and the Labour-Farmer Party were banned by the Home Ministry on April 11, 1928, accused of being linked to the communists. The Kantō Metal Workers Union made an attempt to hold a refoundation meeting of Hyōgikai on April 22, 1928, but its leaders were arrested and the meeting was never held. Communist trade unionists then changed tactics, concentrating on building local union federations. However, in May 1928 the Communist International did instruct the Japanese communists to focus their work on rebuilding Hyōgikai.
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
centre in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
which operated from 1920.
Hyōgikai was founded at a conference in Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
on May 24–27, 1925. As of late 1925, Hyōgikai had 59 affiliated trade unions and around 35,000 members. The organization was affiliated with the Pan Pacific Trade Union Secretariat
Pan Pacific Trade Union Secretariat
The Pan Pacific Trade Union Secretariat was established as the Asia and Pacific branch of the Profintern at a conference in Hankou, China in May 1927. The conference set the headquarters of the PPTU in Shanghai...
. When the organization was crushed in a government crackdown in the spring of 1928, it had 11 regional councils, 82 affiliated unions and around 23,000 members.
Background
Hyōgikai was founded as a continuation of the Reform Alliance, a group of 25 trade unions which merged out of the Eastern Local Council (a body that had separated itself from the Eastern Federation of the Sodomei trade union centre, but retained a direct affiliation to Sodomei. The Eastern Local Council had been dissolved by Sodomei, accused of being a communist plot), and on May 16, 1925 the Reform Alliance unions were expelled from Sodomei. The expelled Reform Alliance unions were joined by seven other unions in forming Hyōgikai. At the time of its foundation Hyōgikai counted with 32 trade unions and 10,778 members.Ritsuta Noda
Ritsuta Noda
was a Japanese trade unionist and politician. Noda served as the chairman of the pro-communist national trade union centre Hyōgikai.-Early life:...
was elected Hyōgikai chairman at the Kobe meeting. A 17-member Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
was formed. Noda was not a communist, but communists played a dominant role in the Central Committee. Prominent communist Central Committee members were Nabeyama, Yamamoto, Taniguchi and Mitamuro Shiro. Hyōgikai appealed to Sodomei to unite all trade unions in a single national federation, a proposal which Sodomei rejected. In response, Hyōgikai denounced the Sodomei leadership as 'bureaucratic' and 'right wing'.
Both Hyōgikai and Sodomei took part in the discussions on the formation of a joint legal proletarian party. The two sides submitted their own drafts for a party platform. On November 29, 1925, Sodomei withdrew from the party-building process, stating that it would not be part of any party which included Hyōgikai. In response Hyōgikai also pulled out of the party-building process the following day, in order not to obstruct the creation of a broad-based proletarian party. In the end, the short-lived Farmer-Labour Party was founded in December 1925.
When the Labour-Farmer Party
Labour-Farmer Party
The was a political party in the Empire of Japan. It represented the left wing sector of the legal proletarian movement at the time. Oyama Ikuo was the chairman of the party. At the time the party was banned by the government in 1928, it was estimated to have around 90,000 members in 131 local...
was founded in March 1926 (by Sodomei and others), Hyōgikai members were barred from becoming members of the party. However, this policy was relaxed after internal disagreements in the party, resulting in the withdrawal of Sodomei from the party and the establishment of a close relation between Hyōgikai and the party.
Strike actions
Hyōgikai launched a number of lengthy strikesStrike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
in 1926. In that year, around 5,000 Hyōgikai activists were detained by police and 196 were imprisoned for having organized strikes.
The third convention of Hyōgikai, held in May 1927, adopted a new platform. Focus was shifted to economic issues, on 'concrete immediate demands of the workers'. Demands raised included the struggle for 8-hour working day. Around the country, which suffered from economic crisis at the time, Hyōgikai was busy forming labour councils together with other trade unions at major factories.
The organizational structure of Hyōgikai was severely weakened by the mass arrests of March 15, 1928
March 15 incident
was a crackdown on socialists and communists by the Japanese government in 1928. Among those who were arrested in the incident was Marxist economist Kawakami Hajime.-Background:...
. An effort to rebuild the organization was initiated, but Hyōgikai and the Labour-Farmer Party were banned by the Home Ministry on April 11, 1928, accused of being linked to the communists. The Kantō Metal Workers Union made an attempt to hold a refoundation meeting of Hyōgikai on April 22, 1928, but its leaders were arrested and the meeting was never held. Communist trade unionists then changed tactics, concentrating on building local union federations. However, in May 1928 the Communist International did instruct the Japanese communists to focus their work on rebuilding Hyōgikai.
Sources
- Beckmann, George M., and Genji Okubo. The Japanese Communist Party 1922-1945. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 1969.