Labor Issues as International Affairs: Japan and the International Labour Organization from 1919 to 1938

Abstract

International audience ; Prewar Japanese labor policies were not only shaped by industrial mutations, the development of labor unions, and domestic political changes, but also inspired by ideas that circulated from one continent to the other through international contacts among labor unionist and social reformist. However, there has been no detailed, long-run historical analysis systematically drawing on first-hand data as to how Japan's membership in the International Labour Organization changed the course of its labor governance strategy in the interwar period. This article draws on the rich, hitherto unused ILO archives in Geneva to focus on the developments in relations between the ILO and Japan from the organization's creation in 1919 through to the country's departure in 1938. It shows that the reasons that made the ILO an important partner for Japan throughout this period changed over time, but that liberal social reformists played all along a very important role. Also, ILO membership compelled the Japanese governing elites to face up to important questions regarding the nation's economic development. Which was the better strategy to enrich and strengthen the nation: cheap, submissive labor or collective bargaining, better working conditions and higher productivity? Which was the more realistic option in view of the way the international situation was developing: free trade by means of diplomatic cooperation or expanding the country's economic bloc by means of territorial conquest?