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Precis: " Japanese Labor Relations During the Twentieth Century" (1990) by Andrew Gordon

In Andrew Gordon’s article “Japanese Labor Relations During the Twentieth Century” (1990), he touches upon the labor-managerial relations in twentieth century Japan, noting how it is a transformation that involved difficult negotiation between workers and managers of acceptable terms of participation in the workplace. He highlights that the key issue was not so much between the dichotomy of sloth versus diligence, rather, it was the moral authority of the factory or enterprise as an institution able to exact diligent labor in exchange for pay. He explains his argument by looking into the different social and political climates and events that shaped the labor-managerial relations in Japan through a timeline from the Pre-war Japan (labor and management side), during the war, and the Post-war Japan. Gordon concludes by pointing out two important notes: firstly, that there was no quick fix in the Japanese case but a long painful process involving substantial tradeoffs and compromise, and secondly, as the process unfolded, laborers made independent use of their own organizations to articulate and, in some measure, to realize their vision of just or legitimate treatment. This article would prove important for future students and researchers on Japanese sociology, labor, protest and managerial history.

(December 6, 2018)

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