Railway strikes in Japan – Past and Present (and Future?)

• Introduction
• Before the Privatisation of JNR
• After the Privatisation of JNR
• Other Railways
• Conclusion

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Introduction

(Sample image)

On 6 and 7 June, London Underground was mostly closed due to strike action. On 21, 23 and 25 June, National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (hereinafter referred to as RMT) carried out the largest industrial action in more than three decades, resulting in extremely severe train disruption across England, Scotland and Wales. Many protests have been taken place amid the cost of living crisis, and it is reported that the RMT may conduct further walkouts.

There are mixed views about the latest industrial action, but many Japanese people living in the UK are frustrated by railways, as they are far from punctual and reliable in spite of disproportionately expensive fares, then they faced these events with disappointment. In addition, Japanese people are not familiar with strikes so that they are confused.

Is a strike illegal in Japan today? Of course not, as Article 28 of the Constitution prescribes that "The right of workers to organize and to bargain and act collectively is guaranteed.", and other relevant laws also have provisions about labour rights. Then, isn't there any railway strike in Japan? Not common in these days, but there had been many cases in the past, especially when it comes to Japanese National Railways.

Before the Privatisation of JNR

In 1948, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (hereinafter referred to as the SCAP) issued Decree No. 201 that restricts public servants' labour rights. In the previous year, a massive general strike lead by Japanese Communist Party was about to take place, but it was outlawed by the SCAP. To put it simply, the US Government feared that allowing strikes would make Japan a potential ally of the USSR. Thus, the SCAP ordered any industrial action by public entities' staffs be prohibited, and instead established committees for arbitration and mediation.

(One of the most common steam locomotive at that time)

By the early-1950s, it became clear that the arbitration scheme would not work well as the Japanese Government refused a pay rise due to financial difficulties. Trade unions relied on work-to-rule protests from 1952, and the first strike was taken place in 1961. The Decree had already been expired, but still JNR staffs were not allowed to go on a strike. Trade unions declared a "strike for a right to strike". The government and trade unions had negotiations several times, many of which were unsuccessful.

"Strikes for a right to strike" continued for more than a decade. Since there were far fewer services than today, trains were always packed by commuters, many of whom described the congestion as life-threatening, and the industrial action made the situation even worse. On 13 March 1973, the fury of commuters burst at Ageo station on Takasaki line, about 25 miles north of Tokyo. It is called the Ageo Incident, a riot by more than 10,000 local residents and passengers. They destroyed trains and other facilities including signals, and grabbed senior staffs and forced them to walk for a few miles on track. On 24 April 1973, there were similar but larger riots in Tokyo (Riots on JNR Commuter Rail in the Greater Tokyo Area). There is an article of The New York Times on web describing these two cases.

From 26 November to 3 December 1975, the longest industrial action of JNR was taken place. Almost all JNR services – both passenger and freight trains – were cancelled across the country for eight consecutive days. The government acted swiftly, declared emergency in accordance with the Road Transport Vehicle Act, and ordered mobilisation of lorries. The replacement for freight trains was successful and no major logistical issues reported. Most trade unions for private railways did not join the industrial action. The "strikes for a right to strike" strategy ended in failure: according to an opinion poll conducted in 1975, 55% answered that JNR staff should not claim the right to strike, and 72.2% of them said that industrial action was annoying and irritating.

Strike actions had a huge negative impact on JNR. They hampered modernisation of technologies, made productivity worse and resulted in costly business. Other business sectors concluded that JNR was so unreliable that they shifted to road transportation. As the government constructed many motorways, lorries became cheaper, faster and more punctual than freight trains.

In the early-1980s, the Liberal Democratic Party held discussions about privatisation of JNR. The main reason for the privatisation was huge deficits that JNR produces every year, but weakening trade unions was said to be one of its objectives as well. Trade unions resisted violently: on 29 November 1985, National Railway Chiba Motive Power Union (also known as Doro Chiba) and Revolutionary Communist League, National Committee (also known as Chukaku-ha, lit. Central Core Faction) destroyed 33 communication cables, signals and power facilities, and 22 lines in the Greater Tokyo Area were suspended. Even with these "efforts", JNR was privatised on 1 April 1987, and split to several companies, which are now called JR.

After the Privatisation of JNR

As JNR was privatised, staffs were no longer a part of public servants, and hence they have been enjoying labour rights without limitation. Even so, like other sectors, railway companies in Japan have been free from strikes in most cases. Companies and trade unions now prefer cooperative approach rather than confrontational one. However, some argues that such a change is responsible for low pay rises for decades, Asahi Shimbun reports.

Kururi line was particularly prone to service suspension.

Doro Chiba is one of few exceptions that carried out strikes until recently. There were walkouts for nine consecutive years until 2010, most of which were held in spring. Even today, the union has been organising various protests in Chiba and Tokyo, one of which was an anti-American and US-Japan alliance demonstration held in the capital when President Biden visited Japan in May. On 29 June, the union issued its latest statement condemning not only Vladimir Putin but also the United States, NATO and the Japanese government. They look active, but they have not held any major strike in recent years.

Since major industrial action resulted in failure and public trust in JNR/JR plummeted, JR companies and unions endeavoured to reconstruct their business by making themselves attractive in the 1990s and 2000s. Nevertheless, the out-of-date cultures of JNR unions still exist in some places. JR Hokkaido Union is accused of too many troubles, such as boycotting safety procedures and health checks and destroying train facilities. The memories of JNR trade unions (and some ongoing troubles) have certainly been affecting the discussions about railways even today. For example, many rural lines in Hokkaido have been closed or about to close, but not a few local governments and residents support permanent closure of these lines and stations, because they do not think it is right to help JR Hokkaido by taxpayers' money, as Diamond pointed out.

JR companies have been free from industrial action for years, but they have not always treated their employees fairly with good working conditions and pay rises. In 2018, East Japan Railway Workers' Union, the largest trade union of JR East, attempted to go on a strike for the first time in more than 30 years. However, it failed again, and it caused a devastating damage on the union itself. As most workers hated the idea of such an action, they denounced the union and withdrew from it. According to Nikkei, the number of Union members dramatically declined from 47,000 in 2018 to just around 5,500 by 2021.

JR companies have been keen to downsizing in recent years, especially after the pandemic began. They have been adopting driver-only operation on various lines including busy commuter rail, and even developing driverless operation in Tokyo and other cities. Trade unions could resist them, but there has been no sign of major action so far.

Other Railways

Private railways unions had been on strikes as well until the 1980s, though not as frequently as those of JNR. Since 1992, almost of all private railway networks have been free from industrial action, but there are a few exceptions. Sotetsu Labor Union is active, lively one compared to others. In 2014, services were cancelled from around 5:00 to 6:30 am. The strike was supposed to last for 24 hours but trains were reinstated minutes before the morning rush hour began. Strikes were also carried out in 2004 and 2009. According to local newspaper Kanagawa Shimbun, commuters and local residents at stations condemned staff and yelled out for compensation, and nobody supported the action.

Okayama Electric Tramway

A few other small private railways, such as Shonan Monorail in Kanagawa Prefecture and Okayama Electric Tramway, have held strikes. In the latter case in 2018, all tram services ran as scheduled, but drivers refused ticket and fare collection for the whole day. But they are exceptional, and even during gradual inflation triggered by post-pandemic recovery and Russian invasion to Ukraine, most unions are likely to concentrate only on negotiation, though not certain if it will pay off.

Conclusion

Industrial action had been common in Japan in the past, but it has been very rare since the 1990s. Memories of severe disruptions have had a significant impact on people's minds so that strikes are not welcomed by most citizens, and it also made some local governments reluctant to help railways. Today, a walkout is unpopular even among railway staffs, and JR East Workers' Union failed to conduct one in 2018. Most other private railways are in the same situation, and therefore it is highly unlikely to see a major industrial action like the one held by the RMT anytime soon in Japan.