Labor unions in Japan
As far as unionization goes, unions are generally much less troublesome than in the United States. Union membership has been declining in Japan. In 1975, 34% of all employees were unionized, but in 1987 only 28% were.
Also, unions are formed along corporate and not industry lines. For example, the United Auto Workers union represents workers at Ford, GM and Chrysler. In Japan, Toyota has only a company union. Labor federations in Japan do exist, but they are very loosely tied together. Because of the corporate nature of unions, and because of generally good labor-management relations, when a short strike does occur, it is usually coordinated between management and labor to minimize negative effects to the company.
