Labor Union Promotion Association

It was founded on July 5, 1897 (Meiji 30) as an extension of the Shoko Giyukai (Association of Friends of Workers), with the aim of promoting the formation of labor unions in Japan. Its core members were Takano Fusataro, who had qualified as an organizer for the American Federation of Labor (AFL), as well as Katayama Sen, Sawada Hannosuke, and Jo Tsunetaro, and was supported by enlightened businessmen, scholars, politicians, and religious leaders such as Sakuma Teiichi, Suzuki Junichiro, Shimada Saburo, and Matsumura Kaiseki. The initial membership was just over 70 people, but in December of the same year, the group launched its official newspaper, "Labor World," under the presidency of Katayama, in the form of an independent newspaper company, and also held speeches and local campaigns, reaching a peak of over 5,700 members in 1899. However, when the Public Order Police Law was promulgated in 1900 (Meiji 33), members began to decline due to disappointment at the prospect of tougher crackdowns, and on April 3, 1901, the Nijūroku Shinpo newspaper hosted a large Japanese workers' social gathering in Mukoujima, Tokyo, which imitated May Day and attracted over 30,000 workers. This was the last time the group began to decline, and it naturally disappeared by the end of the same year.

[Hiroshi Matsuo]

"The Japanese Labor Movement" by Katayama Sen (Iwanami Bunko) " "The Japanese Labor Movement Historical Materials, Volume 1" edited by the Committee for the Publication of Historical Materials on the Labor Movement (1962, University of Tokyo Press)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

1897年（明治30）7月5日、日本の労働組合結成を促進することを目的として、職工義友会の発展として結成された。中心になったのはアメリカ労働総同盟（AFL）のオルガナイザーの資格を得た高野房太郎(ふさたろう)のほか片山潜(せん)、沢田半之助、城常太郎(じょうつねたろう)らで、佐久間貞一(ていいち)、鈴木純一郎、島田三郎、松村介石(かいせき)ら開明的な経営者、学者、政治家、宗教家などが協力した。最初の会員は70人余であったが、同年12月には片山を主宰者とする独立の新聞社の形式ながら機関紙『労働世界』を発刊、また演説会、地方遊説を行い、最盛の1899年には会員5700人余に上った。しかし、1900年（明治33）に治安警察法が公布され、取締りの強化が予想された失望などから会員が減少し、1901年4月3日、二六新報社主催の形で東京・向島(むこうじま)でメーデーをまねた日本労働者大懇親会を開き、3万人余の労働者を集めたのを最後に衰退に向かい、同年末には自然消滅した。

［松尾　洋］

『片山潜著『日本の労働運動』（岩波文庫）』▽『労働運動史料刊行委員会編『日本労働運動史料　第一巻』（1962・東京大学出版会）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例