UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I LIBRARY BEYOND THE SCl-llSM: TEACHERS' UNIONS AND THE REVISION OF THE FUNDAMENTAL LAW OF EDUCATION IN JAPAN A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I IN PARTIAL FUFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN ASIAN STUDIES AUGUST 2008 By Yoko I. Wang Thesis Committee: Patricia G. Steinhoff, Chairperson Lonny E. Carlile Petrice R. Flowers We certify that we have read this thesis and that, in our opinion. it is satisfactory in scope and quality as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in Asian Studies. THESIS COMMITIEE ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my committee chair, Professor Patricia G. Steinhoff. Without her expertise and dedicated guidance this thesis would not have been possible. I admire her all-rounded scholarship and incomparable enthusiasm in teaching, as well as her warm support for her students. I am most privileged that I can continue my studies with her here at University ofHawai'i at Minoa, as a new doctorate student in Sociology. I would also like to thank my committee members, Professor Lonny E. Carlile and Professor Petrice R. Flowers. The courses provided by Professor Carlile have always been my inspiration, and his guidance based on his expertise in Japanese labor movement has been the greatest resource for my newly developing academic interest My first Political Science course with Professor Flowers challenged my view of Japanese politics intellectually, and it was one of my favorite classes in my Master's program. I would also like to thank Mr. ShOji Kitano, for sending me precious primary sources from Japan on his personal expenses. His generous support certainly enriched this Master's research, as it did not have the opportunity of fieldwork. Finally, I dedicate this thesis to my parents, Mr. Hiroshi llda and Mrs. Emiko Iida. There is little doubt that my family environment has been the most determining factor in motivating me to study the subject of Japanese teachers' union movement iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements •...........•...........•.........••.•...........•...•.•........•....•...•......•.•........••..•••.•..••.•••.... iii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................ v List of Figures ......................................................................................................................... vi Chapter I: Introduction and Methods Unions in a Vertical Society?: Labor Movements in Post-WWTI Japan •.•.••.••. .1 Nikky6s0: Teachers' Union Movement in Post-WWTI Japan •••.•.••..•••••..••...•••••..••. 6 Analyzing Opposition Campaigns: Social Movement Theories and the .............. 14 FLE Revision Methods .•..••.•..•..••••...•..•.••.•........•.............••.................•...............•....•.................••..... 20 Chapter 2: NikkyGso, 1947-1989 Fights between NikkyGso and the Conservatives .................................................. 22 Membership Decline and the Schism ofNikky6s0 ................................................ 30 Chapter 3: Reconstruction ofthe Union Identity Rengl): Characteristics and Orientation .......•............................•....................••..•••.. 38 Rengo: Unity or Division? ....................................................................................... 41 Reconstruction of the Union Identity .................................................................... 44 Chapter 4: Opposition Campaigns against the FLE Revision ............................................ 48 The Case: Revision of the Fundamental Law of Education .................................. 50 Central Rallies Zenkyo and Nikkyoso 's Central Rallies .................................................... 54 Outside Network Groups and Their Central Rallies ............................... 56 Joint Struggles at the Local Level. .......................................................................... 59 Hokkaido .................................................................................................... 60 Tokyo ........................................................................................................... 6I Nagano ....................................................................................................... 62 Miyagi ........................................................................................................ 63 Caravan Campaign.................................................................................................. 64 Shared Views, Different Audiences ....................................................................... 65 Chapter 5: Conclusion Perpetual Factionalism in Japanese Labor Movement .......................................... 70 Contribution oflntemational Norms to the Process of the FLE Revision .•.....•... 72 Social Movement Theories and the Case of Japanese Teachers' Union .............. 74 Movement Bibliography .......................................................................................................................... 78 iv LIST OF TABLES 1. The Change of Teachers' Unions' Membership .•.•.•....••...............•..•..•........ 36 2. After the Schism: Teachers' Union Membership in 1992 ......•..............•.... 37 3. Date and Size of Central Rallies held by Nikkyoso and Zenk:yo ...........•.... 55 4. Date & Size ofKyokiren's Central Events ................................................ 58 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure ~ 1. Offe's Model of Union Mobilization .............•..•..........................•...........•... 3 2. Evolution of Teachers' Unions in Post-WWII Japan ...••.•.....•...................... 8 3. Evolution of Political Parties of Japan ....................................................... 34 4. Evolution of National Union Federations in Post-WWII Japan ........•.•.....•. 35 5. The Opposition Rally at the Meiji Park, Tokyo ............•.....•..•................•.•. 54 vi CHAPTERl INTRODUCTION AND MEmODS Unions in a Vertical Sodety?: Labor Movements in Post-wwn Japan Huw does inequality persist in a society where equality should have been institutionaliwl as an element of basic citizenship? To answer such a question, Claus Offe argues, we must not be blinded by such popular concepts as "interest group" that Instead, Offe suggests, we have to closely look at the reality of people's lives in the society in which they operate and see how the social structure allows inequality to persist. 1'bus. in hisessa.y "Two Logics of Collective Action." OtIe'sanalysis is fncngeA on the fundamentally different patterns of communication exercised by capital and labor. According to Offe, becanse capital and labor have conflicting interests in iruJuslrial socictWs, they also have cOJ'l.tnrsting patterns ofc.mpmtmication tPrough which. they define their interests. While capital has rather self-evident interest and purpose and therefore only needs a "monological" communication process to define its interests, labor basmnltip1e. oftenooutlicting interestsamong itsgmup (presumably a union) membership and thus the members are required to have a "dialogical" communication process to define their interests in order to achieve consensus and unity.2 As an individual his or her employer, moreover, maintaining unity is the only way for labor to be able to 1 Claus Offe. "Two logics of Collective Action," In Disorganized Capitalism: Contemporary nU11O.fmmations ajWorktmdPri/itir:$. (Caillb,idge, Maslr.TheMffl'nlss, 19I5), t"ffl..22(t 2 ibid., 198 1 confront capital. At the same time, Offe also points out, "for the sake of their power, unions are foroedto maintain a precarious balaooe bet!' : en znobjlkarion ofWSOU«leS and mobilization of activity, between size and collective identity, and between bureaucracy (which allows them to accumulate power) and internal democracy (which allows them to exercise power)" {empbeSfl'l uumginatj. This me ns that the power of a union doesoot necessarily increase as its size does, because it is a 'union' of multiple interests, which has to maintain its membership's motivational power that tends to be weakened once it becomes too bureaucratic and thus internal democmcyis andu ired Consequently, whereas labor needs a union to represent their collective interest, a union has to maintain an appropriate size and internal dynamics. On the other hand, capital is simply stronger when it is Digger. Thus, in mauy iRdustriesunbpl'l"Ced power reIationsbetw«mcapitBl 3 and labor persist. (see Figure 1) : 3 Offe, 187 2 Figure 1. Offe's Model of Union Mobilization Material resources (potential of power) , J''­ +/'1----__.. ' ' "'-, + .,. i M. Weber, ~/+'. DiVCISity of !....---+~E~~a§] c:'''~ Size r- interests I' - :Michels Power '------'\ ~I Democracy I / - \o\lson :lL,,/( Motivational resources ,/ , ,(Exercise of.powcr) Source: Claus Offe. Disorganized Capitalism: Contemporary Transformations ofWork and Politics. Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press, 1985, 187, Fugure 7.3. In addition to such perpetual antagonism between capital and labor, Offe continues, we must not forget the role that the state plays, mostly in favor of capital, as .their ,interests are common in.maintaining the existing ·social.structurewhere·they·occupy a privileged position economically and politically. This insight ofOffe is to be considered when we examine labor movements in a particular country, in this present study, Japan. In·her famous·book Japanese Society, Nakane·Chie·demonstrates·the ·vertical social structure