Comparative Political Economy: Japan And The Decline In Labor Union Strikes (Research Paper Sample)

COMPARATIVE POLITICAL ECONOMY: JAPAN AND THE DECLINE IN LABOR
UNION STRIKES
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INTRODUCTION
Labor unions provide a means through which employees can organize themselves and collectively advocate for their rights. Every employee has the right to proper wages, and working for unions are effective in helping each worker to attain the desired wage and working conditions. The unions organize workers and give them the power to collectively advocate for or negotiate for their collective rights and achieve the desired result.The strikes provide a way of negotiation of terms with their employers or managers. They are used to bring issues facing employees to the attention of employers or managers of a firm. They are a valuable tool that workers can use to fight for their rights.
In Japan, labor strikes have been carried out by workers over the years to fight for their rights and to protest the political inequalities in the nation. These strikes have been reducing over the years to a minimum in the current times. The decline of the strikes and labor actions in Japan has been attributed to the development of trust and understanding between the employees and the management. This cooperation between the two classes of people has improved the economy of Japan over the years. This understanding started after the occupation of the United States of America in Japan that led to political and social changes that affected workers monumentally. These changes occurred over an extended period. It is therefore important to look at the political economy of Japan based on the Varieties of Capitalism approach and the historical development and changes in the labor movements in Japan from the pre-war period to after the American occupation of Japan. This paper will shed light on how the political economy of Japan falls under the ideas explained in the Varieties of Capitalism approach, the history of labor movements and strikes in the country which demonstrate the decline of strikes over the years, and the opposing views on the reasons for the decline of the strikes.
VARIETIES OF CAPITALISM
This approach of comparative political economics is firm-centered and operates within a model of historical institutionalism. This method is centered on actors in the economy. These players include people, firms, producer groups, and the government. The approach is firm-centered given that this is a firm-centered political economy that views the companies as essential actors in a capitalist economy. This concept is relational. Firms are considered as actors who seek to develop and utilize core capacities and dynamic capabilities. These are the capacities that are used for development, production, and distribution of goods and services for a profit. The quality of relationships that the firm establishes internally and externally affect the development, production, and allocation of goods and services. Therefore, a company should undertake to ensure that the relationships are good enough not to hinder the acquisition of profit. Internal relationships are those established between the firms and its employees while external one is those established between the firm and stakeholders, suppliers, trade unions, the government, and other organizations. All these relationships are hard to maintain, and therefore coordination is required.[] [] []
Coordination becomes important in resolving issues that arise between the firm and other actors such as employees or trade unions representing employees. Some of these problems include bargaining for wages and working conditions between the firm and employees or a labor union that represents them. Coordination is also imperative since the wages and the productivity of employees determine the success of the business. Therefore if the bargains and negotiation of the company with the employees do not bear fruit, the organization will suffer loss. Finding solutions to the problems determine the competitiveness of the economy in general.[] [] []
This approach emphasizes historical institutionalism. These solutions to the problems the firms face rely on historical institutions. These are institutions that provide the capacity to exchange information, monitor, and sanction defection for promoting cooperative behavior among firms and actors like employees and labor unions. One of these institutions is the deliberative institution. These institutions allow actors to take part in collective discussions and make agreements such as the ones undertaken by firms and trade unions. These deliberations lead to negotiation and agreement between the employees and the management of the businesses.[] []
In addition to these deliberative institutions, there are formal systems that are critical in achieving equilibrium during coordination and problem-solving. Since these formal institutions cannot guarantee the desired results, a set of shared understandings based on custom, informal use, culture, and history become useful. The institutions of a political economy of a nation are linked to that country's history. These historical institutions are ones that have been created by actions, including those established by statutes. These actions and statutes guide the operation of the various formal systems. Historical experiences create some common expectations among actors such as firms, employees, and labor unions. They give insight into the outcome of coordination or negotiation. These traditional institutions reaffirm the actions of businesses and actors regarding the outcome of problem-solving operations.[] [] []
Japan fits the ideas within the Varieties of Capitalism in various ways. The economy of Japan is capitalist, and therefore it is firm-based. In such an economy, firms are seen as an important actor in the growth of the country. Japan is also a coordinated market economy that provides for the protection of employment. This includes fostering the relationship between the firms and the employees and the organizations that represent them. The firms ensure that the employees are protected because their success depends on the productivity of the employees. The companies in Japan encourage their employees to get skills that are unique to that companies needs by offering lifetime employment opportunities. The large firms in Japan have developed company unions that give a voice to the employees and enables the workers of the organization to voice his or her grievances. All these are coordination and problem-solving mechanisms that ultimately lead back to the company. It is firm bases such that, whatever is done is to the advantage of the company. Therefore, of employees are given lifetime employment and allowed to be part of a company union, the result is a lower level of strikes and higher productivity which contribute to the profit of the company. Japan also has institutions that promote group-based coordination. It is one of the states that create regulatory and financial incentives to compel firms and other actors to take certain actions that improve the economy of the country.[] [] []
HISTORY OF LABOR STRIKES AND THE DECLINE
The labor movements in Japan begun during and after the Meiji Restoration that took place between 1865 and 1915. The industrialization and growth of the economy during this period in 1868 led to change of feudal workers to wage laborers. It also resulted in a shortage of skilled labor. During this period, workers who try to advocate for an increase in wages, better working conditions, and welfare benefits were met with opposition from the government and their employers. The labor unions were mostly made up of industrial workers. The labor unions at this time were not successful. The workers in the periods between the 1880s and 1890s remained unorganized. In 1890, Fitasaro Takano and other individuals formed the Workers Volunteer Association while they were living in San Fransisco. They had learnt about their rights and labor actions that can be used to fight for their rights during their stay in the United States where they worked as laborers. They utilized these ideas when they returned to Japan. According to a document issued by the group called "An Address to the Workers," labor issues started in Japan when capitalism was introduced. Tekano mobilized people and formed the Iron Workers Union in 1897. More unions have been trained after this. By 1902, about 50,957 workers in the machinery industry were unionized. The labor movement that had started was curtailed by police and order laws that were imposed in 1900. The state control hindered any further growth of the labor movements. Strikes on a large scale started occurring in 1906 in February at the plants managed by the government in Ishikawajima ship building far in Tokyo. In August the same year, there were strikes in the Tokyo, Osaka, and Yokosika Navel arsenals. There were more riots in the copper lines in Ashio and Besshi and mass protests against the public order and police laws and poor working conditions in government-run companies. Government troops quashed These riots. The labor unions collapsed, and their revival occurred after the First World War.[] [] [] [] [] []
In the 1920s, there were more than 200 labor unions in Tokyo and Osaka, and about 100,000 manual workers belonged to a union. After the First World War, more unions started forming, and their membership increased gradually. This is because the war had brought about inflation and this had increased the issues in the labor markets. These unions represented both industrial and craft workers. Between 1920 and 1930, about 800 unions and been formed. The biggest strikes stated in the same period. There were a lot of strikes between 1919 and 1921. The Japan Labour Federation was formed in 1921. At this time, strikes and adversarial collective bargaining were inhibited by the threat of unemployment and coercion. The government did ...