Corporatism and Cooperation among Japanese Labor

Abstract

Dramatic changes in Japan's political economy have renewed the debate over the role of organized A tripartite negotiation of adjustment programs in declining industries now brings labor to the bargaining table with capital and the state. The triumph of moderates over militants within the labor movement has fostered a shift from confrontative to consensual politics. At the same time labor federations have gained a more prominent role within industries, and a new national center, the Rengo, has consolidated nearly two-thirds of organized labor under one peak organization. These changes have divided scholars of Japanese corporatism. Some write of a new role for labor competitive with capital, but others are unconvinced of the significance of the changes. Proponents of inclusion cite a new corporatist partnership, but opponents point to the exclusion of corporatism without labor. A reconsideration of labor's role will shed light on industrial adjustment and processes of corporatist negotiation and reveal embedded ties within and beyond the enterprise that help distinguish Japan's political economy. Resolution of the debate will strengthen the comparative utility of the corporatist thesis and provide insight into the often opaque and deeply rooted, yet eminently successful dynamics of cooperation and competition in Japan. Joining a case study of adjustment in the textile industry to a review of survey and archival data on recent changes in organization and action, I assess labor's role in the corporatist negotiation of adjustment in Japan's declining industries. A profile of interests and organization at enterprise, federation, and national levels supports arguments for neither full inclusion nor exclusion. Rather, I find a secure