The Productivity Movement in Japan

: Based on a Group of Staff Members

Abstract

This study analyzes the career history of staff members at the Japan Productivity Center, an organization that had a significant influence on labor-management relations in Japan. Analyzing the productivity movement will further provide insights into the reasons for Japan’s rapid economic growth in the postwar period. The study investigates the development of Japanese labor-management relations, which have been described as mutually trusting, with the productivity movement being analyzed using written and oral historical sources. First, the study confirms the impact of the measures for productivity improvement on labor-management relations. These measures included : 1） introduction of a labor-management consultation system, 2） promotion of communication among trade union leaders through inspection teams and committees, and 3） introduction of broad education for everyone from executives to the youth. Next, this study explores the backgrounds and ideas of the staff members who supported these activities. These staff members are classified into three types for analysis. Describing the productivity movement from the history of the three personnel types reveals the following aspects : nationalism, social movements, and modern rationalism. While the three ideologies were inter-related, the aspect of a “national movement” disappeared after the mid-1970s.