May 2, 2022

On May 1, rallies commemorating the 93rd May Day took place at more than 200 locations across Japan in strict accordance with locally-set guidelines for preventing COVID-19 infections, appealing for the need to protect people’s livelihoods during skyrocketing prices and push Russia to immediately withdraw from Ukraine.

In Tokyo, the 93rd May Day central rally was held in Yoyogi Park with 2,900 people, mainly activists of unions affiliated with the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren), participating. The rally was also streamed live on the Internet. After the rally, the participants marched in demonstration through Tokyo’s major downtown areas of Shibuya and Harajuku.

Zenroren President Obata Masako on behalf of the organizing committee delivered a speech and said, “Having confidence in our legitimate demands, including seeking a 2% increase in basic wages in this year’s ‘shunto’ spring wage offensive and establishing a system to provide better wages to care workers, let us promote our campaigns to achieve this by attracting more workers to labor unions.”

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo, Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations Representative Director Tanaka Terumi, and Secretary General of the National Trade Union Council (Zenrokyo) Nakaoka Tomoaki gave speeches in solidarity.

Shii referred to the JCP proposal aimed at increasing tax revenues and revising the current unjust tax system by putting a levy on the huge internal reserves hoarded by large corporations under the Abe government’s “Abenomics” economic policy. He said that this proposal will bring in an additional l0 trillion yen in government revenue, which can be used to provide financial support to smaller businesses for the purpose of increasing the minimum hourly wage to 1,500 yen.

Union representatives appeared on the stage to deliver speeches. All-Japan Federation of Automobile Transport Workers' Unions (Jiko-soren/ATU) Chair Takagi Masatoshi said that being in good health is essential, especially for workers in transportation industries, and expressed his determination to work hard to win shorter working hours. The head of a union organizing freelance workers in the publishing industry, Higuchi Satoshi, said that his union will make the utmost effort to block the implementation of the consumption tax invoice system.