Some Thoughts on the Problem of Internal Union Democracy in Japan

The essay shows the importance for internal trade union democracy of the common institutional form of Japanese trade unions, the enterprise union. A description of the institutional framework is followed by an analysis of the effects on the scope of union organization on the introduction of new employment categories. Practices undermining formal democratic rules in the electoral process of trade unions are considered in terms of their consequences for leadership-membership relations. The lack of internal democracy in many of the enterprise unions is shown to be an important reason for organizational splits and the subsequent emergence of minority unions. Where the trade union leadership and the majority of the members do not allow expression of a variety of views on policies and strategy within the enterprise union, the minority cannot but build up its own union.