Cross-border investigative journalism from Japan

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Tansa has been reporting a series “Hostage Justice: The Targeted Labor Union”

Have you ever heard of the term “hostage justice”? 

This is a practice of detaining suspects for extended periods of time in order to coerce confessions. It has resulted in many wrongful convictions. The Japanese government has been frequently urged to abolish hostage justice by international organizations like the United Nations Committee against Torture, but the Japan’s power structure is unwilling to relinquish the system.

What is serious is that the police and prosecutors are treating union activities, such as strikes and collective bargaining with management, as “crimes.” Article 28 of the Constitution recognizes the right to engage in union activities. The investigative authorities are blatantly violating the Constitution. 

Labor unions in Japan

Japan’s labor unions are predominantly enterprise-based. A company-specific labor union cannot fulfill its role since the company’s employees alone will not yield enough outcomes from negotiations with management. Management holds the power over personnel affairs, so unions cannot be forceful.

In other countries, labor unions are “industrial labor unions.” They operate across company boundaries for all workers in that industry. Workers from different workplaces, whether regular or non-regular, work together to negotiate with industry management using strikes and other measures. Because the balance of power is equal, it is easier to improve the treatment of workers.

There is an organization that the power structure is trying to crush by fully operating the hostage justice system on an unprecedented scale. It is an industrial labor union for people working in the ready-mix concrete industry, the “Kansai District Ready-Mixed Concrete Branch of the All Japan Construction and Transport Workers Solidarity Union.” It is commonly known as the “Kan-nama.”

Industrial labor unions “Kan-nama”

The members of Kan-nama were detained for long periods, including Chairman Yuji Yukawa, who was detained for 644 days. The crackdown began in 2018 under the Shinzo Abe administration, and a total of 87 people have been arrested. (The Determination of the Leader Despite Being Detained for 644 Days / “Establishing Industrial Democracy in Japan” / Yuji Yukawa, Chairman of Kan-Nama Kansai Ready-Mixed Concrete Case Testimony #2 )

Kaoru Komi, a union member of Kan-nama, was accused of “theft” by printing out six pages of documents containing information such as salaries and taking them home. Then, she was arrested by the Osaka Prefectural Police Security Division and Oyodo Police Station and detained for about three months. Arrested for Taking Home Six Pages of Documents Listing Salaries / Separating Parent and Children From the Day of University Entrance Exams / Kaoru Komi, Kan-Nama Member Kansai Ready-Mixed Concrete Case Testimony #1 - Tansa

Why Tansa reports this story

The constitution is there to keep the power structures in check.

However, today, the powerful structures disregard the Constitution. It is journalists and the news organizations who should play a critical role in stopping this rampage.

Nonetheless, mainstream media outlets such as newspapers and broadcasts are helping the police and prosecutors. They use press clubs as their base and report stories that follow the police and prosecutors’ scripts. When union members from Kan-nama are arrested, they report on them as if they are a criminal without even interviewing them.

Tansa fights by exposing the reality of out-of-control power structure. We hope that other media organizations and journalists will join in solidarity, and we sincerely hope that readers will also fight back as sovereign citizens.

Series: Hostage Justice 

Tansa will accelerate the cross-border investigative reporting!

Similar crackdowns on labor unions are occurring under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration in South Korea. We are conducting reporting in South Korea and also collaborating with the Korean independent media. Tansa will continue to challenge “hostage justice” through reporting overseas and collaborations with international media organizations. We sincerely appreciate your continued interest and support.

Thank you.