Press translations [Japan]. Economic Series 0231, 1946-01-30.

Summary:

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is reported to be doing its best to eliminate industrial bottlenecks, such as financial difficulties or hoarding of materials by a limited few.

The program which it formed for the attempt was disclosed as follows:

• 1..Liaison conferences between the Ministry and 12 companies named below will be held beginning February to discuss current problems: The ISHIKAWAJIMA Industrial Company (ISHIKAWAJIMA. SANGYO), the JAPAN International Aircraft Industry Company (NIPPON KOKUSAI KOKU KOGYO), the JAPAN Aircraft Company (NPPON HIKOKI), the KAWASAKI Aircraft Manufacturing Company (KAWASAKI KOKUKI KOGYO), the KAWANISHI Aircraft Company (KAWASAKI KOKUKI KOGYO), the TACHIKAWA Aircraft Company (TACHIKAWA HIKOKI), the FUJI Industry Company (FUJI SANGYO), the AICHI Aircraft Company (AISHI KOKUKI), the KYUSHU Aircraft Company (KYUSHU HIKOKI), the MITSUBISHI Heavy Industry Company (MITSUBISHI JUKOGYO), the HITACHI Aircraft Company (HITACHI KOKUKI), and SHOWA Aircraft Company (SHOWA HIKOKI).
• 2.Financial smoothness will be sought through the negotiations between the above-mentioned industrial institutions and five big banks, TEIKOKU, MITSUBISHI, SUMITOMO, YASUDA and SANWA.
• 3.Ministries concerned will effect closer relations whenever needed.
• 4.Some plants will be separated from the mother company whenever they are deemed possible to be converted to peace time industry.
• 5.Materials jealously hoarded by former big munition plants will be supplied to peacetime industrial plants.
• 6.The merger of certain former munitions plants into new individual companies is now being studied.
• 7.SCAP's approval will be asked to leave us the use of plants, installations and machines, which will be employed for the peacetime industry. Also, the concrete program of collecting goods for reparation will be submitted to Headquarters.
  
  
  

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  ECONOMIC SERIES: 231 (Continued)
  
  ITEM 1. (Continued)
• 8.Supply of surplus materials and machines from large scale enterprises to medium and small size plants will be effected through the good will of the Ministry which will also help those plants to find technicians in order to increase production.
• 9.Those goods produced under a guarantee will be given priority in the supply of materials. Redistribution of materials may also be made by means of compulsory purchase on the part of the Government.

Summary:

Though six months have elapsed since the war's end, our industry still remains idle. It must be noted that production management by employees has come to the fore in this state of affairs.

Instances of Production Management by Employees becoming more numerous.

We can take as the most pertinent instances of management by employees, the YOMIURI SHIMBUN, and the MIUTA Coal Mine Company owned by MITSUI [illegible]located in HOKKAIDO. The HOKKAIDO Miners Union did away with the oppressions of the employers and the prefectural government in the dispute in the MIUTA Coal Mine and greater coal output resulted from production management by employees. Since then, there have been many instances. This tendency is inclined to grow.

Types of Management by Employees and Results

Management by employees is classified into two types.

1. One is that goods given to farmers in exchange for rice-delivery should be produced by employees themselves to tide over the food crisis and the matter should be taken out of the hands of the sabotaging capitalists . 2. The other is that employees under dispute take over management. The former is now a mere plan and there are many instances of the latter. Both of them, though brought under the same categories, are different in their own aims and, at the same time, have common points also.

How is production managed by employees in reality? We can see it in the cases of the MIUTA Coal Mine and the TSURUMI Steel Works of the Nippon Tube and Pipe Company (NIPPON KOKAN). MIUTA Coal Mine——The dispute between the laborers and the company started on 6 December. Despite a standstill directive issued by the company, the Labor Union continued operation for three days. Coal output for these three days was greater than normal. The Company, however, considered uncontrolled mining unreasonable. It has not been heard that this uncontrolled mining has affected output since then. On the contrary, coal output jumped to 674 tons, the greatest figure of recent days.

TSURUMI Steel Works——-The Labor Union declared a campaign against the company on 10 January. Soon after the declaration, the production management committee issured a directive to the laborers. 1. Stoppage of shipment. 2. Full operation of workable equipment. 3. Production of salt for self-supply. The previous two instances have nothing deeply connected with accounting. There have been some disputes like the KEISEI Electric Railway Company when the employees themselves met their demand for higher wages out of fares collected by employees.

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ECONOMIC SERIES: 231 (Continued)

ITEM 2 (Continued)

Production management by employees under dispute is one thing and that aiming at tiding over the food crisis is another. Both of them, however, come from the same willingness to produce instead of enduring capital sabotage. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Justice can not regard these disputes as illegal. That is because production management by employees under dispute comes from "willingnes to produce" and also because to continue operation is far more important in our post-war economy than to observe factory discipline. No one can deny that it is more reasonable for laborers to continue operation on the one hand, and to negotiate with capitalists on the other.

It should be remembered also that production management, when it lasts long, can not always have a good result in production. Production management by employees engaged in dispute, though legitimate, is undesirable when it lasts long, because production will not keep up. The most desirable thing for the speedy rehabilitation of industry is the capitalists' willingness to produce goods and permit no disputes and accordingly no production management by employees.

According to the democratic directive for the national economy made by SCAP, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, which has studied the basic bills for general economy, is quickly drafting three special bills concerning the post-war economy. They are the Industrial System Bill (SANGYO CHITSUJO), the Economic Association Bill (KEIZAI KUMIAI HOAN), and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Bill (SHOKO KAIGISHO HOAN), which will be introduced as urgent measures for the present economic crisis in order to overcome the sudden changes of post-war economic conditions. These will be submitted at the ministry meeting.

The Industrial System Bill is the basic provision for democratic industrial economy and for the Anti-trust Law which is to work for the dissolution of the ZAIBATSU. The Economic Association Bill, which is a revision of the war-time Commerce and Industrial Association Law, deals with commercial associations, industrial associations, and co-operative associations. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Bill, which is a revision of the War-time Commerce and Industry Economy Law, works for democratization of industry, and substitutes vertical economy groups for horizontal ones.

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