Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, exchanges greetings with Kenta Izumi, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, at a New Year's gathering of Rengo (Japanese Trade Union Confederation) in Tokyo’s Arakawa Ward on Jan. 5. (Tamiyuki Kihara)

For the second year in a row, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attended a New Year’s gathering of Japan’s largest labor organization, backing its efforts for employees’ pay hikes.

However, some view Kishida’s attendance as an attempt to splinter opposition parties and its traditional backing from labor in this spring’s local elections and the next Lower House election.

Kishida, who heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, attended the annual event hosted by Rengo (Japanese Trade Union Confederation), the main support group of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Democratic Party for the People, in Tokyo on Jan. 5.

“The core of a virtuous economic cycle lies in wage growth,” Kishida said. “Rengo is seeking wage increases of around 5 percent at its ‘shunto’ (annual labor-management negotiations in spring) and the government would like to support their efforts.”

In Kishida’s speech, he referred to the realization of pay hikes exceeding the rate of inflation, which he underscored in his New Year’s news conference on Jan. 4.

At the Rengo event, he expressed his intention to align the government with the labor organization, within earshot of CDP leader Kenta Izumi and DPP head Yuichiro Tamaki, who were in attendance.

Rengo has maintained its distance from the LDP. However, the government and the labor organization have increasingly warmed to each other since the inauguration of the Kishida administration in October 2021.

Kishida became the first prime minister to attend the annual event in 2022 since former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2013.

Abe participated in the event soon after the LDP returned to power, but did not attend in succeeding years.

The next administration of Yoshihide Suga took a similar approach to Abe in staying away from the gathering. 

Three months after Kishida participated in the 2022 event, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno attended a Rengo-sponsored May Day Central rally in April that year.

In addition to Kishida, the 2023 event was attended by Matsuno, Natsuo Yamaguchi, the leader of junior coalition partner Komeito, and Keiichi Ishii, secretary-general of Komeito.

Behind such a move is believed to be the administration’s thinking that splitting the opposition parties and Rengo is essential for weakening the opposition bloc.

Rengo has around 7 million members.

Observers say it’s clear that the government is hoping to draw the opposition supporters to the administration’s side and hold the upper hand in the national and local elections.

Rengo also thinks that it would be beneficial to close the gap between itself and the administration to realize such vital goals as wage hikes.

Rengo President Tomoko Yoshino has softened her stance toward the administration, dining with LDP Vice President Taro Aso and addressing LDP meetings.

Yoshino hailed the prime minister’s attendance for the second consecutive year at a news conference ahead of the New Year’s gathering.

“I’m very honored. Realizing policies will be beneficial for our members,” she said.

Yoshino said she intends to continue to make policy requests to the government.

Meanwhile, there are reports that the LDP is considering adding the DPP to the ruling coalition with Komeito.

Yoshino, however, maintained her organization’s official position, saying, “Rengo will continue to work with the CDP and DPP.” 

(This article was written by Kazutaka Kamizawa and Tamiyuki Kihara.)

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