Struggle and Purpose in Postwar Japanese Unionism

Book Reviews

The Journal of Asian Studies

"This book vividly recreates the intense passions of labor organizing and activism in the iron and steel industry in the first twenty years after World War II. Along the way, it offers considerable insight into the dynamics of labor struggles and their outcomes."
—Andrew Gordon, The Journal of Asian Studies 62, no. 1 (2003)
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3096196

"Gibbs's study…pays attention to the sense of purpose held by union activists and managers, and examines how struggles among actors with different senses of purpose influenced the development of labor relations in the steel firms. Another contribution of this book is that it gives a detailed account of two issues that have tended to be overlooked in previous studies of Japanese labor relations, especially in English language publications: the influence of wartime experiences of workers on their subsequent commitment to union activities, and the active role of white-collar staff in the labor movement in the early postwar days."
—Akira Suzuki, The Journal of Asian Studies 60, no. 4 (2001)
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2700063