Japan's Largest Unfair Labor Dismissal Still Awaits Justice

In 1987, during the privatization and division of Japanese National Railways (JNR), 1,047 workers were dismissed--the largest unfair labor practice in Japan since the end of WWII. 

For four decades, Doro-Chiba and Doro Federation has been fighting to have the firing reversed.  In 2015, the Supreme Court has ruled that the criterion for excluding union members who oppose the division and privatization of JNR, which were established when employing JNR union members to JR, constituted unfair labor practices. The formulation of the rejection criterion was ordered and decided by the JR Establishment Committee, and therefore JR is liable for unfair labor practices. JR, however, does not withdraw the dismissal and refuses collective bargaining.

The Central Labor Relations Commission refused to even conduct an investigation of the facts and enforced an order to deny the case. An outrageous act that abandons the Labor Relations Commission's mission of protecting workers' right to organize. The Tokyo District Court's decision allowed dismissal by concealing the truth, even though it could not disprove JR’s unfair labor practices.

The struggle against privatization of Japan National Railways is even more critical in the current global war situation. As the US National Security Strategy and the National Defense Strategy and Japanese equivalents thereof openly stated, Japan is rushing to take “the primary responsibility” in the battle against China. The privatization of the JNR in 1980s was carried out by the then PM Yasuhiro Nakasone who boasted later that the objective of the privatization had been "destruction of the National Railway Workers' Union, which would lead to collapse of the General Council of Trade Unions of Japan (Sohyo), and establishment of  a beautiful constitution (slashing of Article 9, the peace clause)." The Largest unfair labor practice in post-WWII Japan was the core of the re-militarization scheme.

However, the principled struggle of Doro-Chiba has continued to prevent the completion of that plan to this day. Now is the time of decisive struggle: the third appeals court hearing over the reversal of the dismissal of 1,047 Japan National Railway (JNR) workers will be held on July 16th. This hearing marks a decisive moment to see whether the truth of the state’s unfair labor practices that have been concealed for so many years can be exposed in court.

The Struggle to Revoke the Dismissal of 1,047 JNR Workers is to demand the reinstatement of the 1,047 workers who were dismissed during the Division and Privatization in 1987. JNR and JR unfairly singled out labor union members who opposed the Division and Privatization, and on February 16, 1987, notified them of their “non-hiring by JR”—in effect, their dismissal. Since then, the struggle to overturn these dismissals has continued for 39 years.

Central to the trial is securing the testimony of Masataka Ide, former chair of JR West, and Yuji Fukazawa, current chair of JR East. These two individuals are the ones who know the truth about the unfair labor practices committed by JR, which have been kept hidden.

The Chiba Prefectural Labor Relations Commission, the Central Labor Relations Commission, and the Tokyo District Court have all avoided investigating the facts, arguing that “since the period for filing a complaint regarding unfair labor practices has expired, there is no need to investigate whether JR engaged in such practices.”

However, at the second appeals court hearing held on January 23, 2026, the presiding judge pressed the Central Labor Relations Commission (i.e. the JR side) on whether it would acknowledge or contest the unfair labor practices committed by the JR Establishment Committee. The judge clearly stated that if the Commission acknowledged them, the court would issue a ruling based on the fact of the “unfair labor practices by the Establishment Committee”; if it contested them, the court would “call witnesses.” It was the moment when, by uniting the strength of our comrades nationwide to surround the Tokyo High Court, we forced the court into a position where it had no choice but to acknowledge the facts through the power of our struggle.

Meanwhile, the government also took immediate action. The presiding judge was effectively forced out of the Tokyo High Court under the guise of a “promotion to President of the Takamatsu High Court,” and was replaced. JR East has argued that “the non-hiring criteria were established internally within the JNR,” “there is no fact that they were formulated based on instructions from the JR Establishment Committee,” and “since Kasai (a former JNR executive) has already testified to this, cross-examination is unnecessary.” It is absolutely unacceptable that JR is continuing to commit perjury at this late stage.

• ILNSS' calls you to spread the word about this petition campaign:

[ Click here to sign ]