EDITORIAL: Labor unions and polls

The administration is still reeling from scandals involving political donations. Now, a labor union that supports Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan is under scrutiny.

The Sapporo District Public Prosecutors Office is looking into suspicions that Lower House DPJ member Chiyomi Kobayashi's election campaign received 16 million yen ($179,000) from the Hokkaido teachers' union in violation of the Political Fund Control Law. Running from the Hokkaido No. 5 constituency, Kobayashi won a seat in the Lower House election last August.

The Sapporo District Court ruled that a former head of the Sapporo branch of Rengo (The Japanese Trade Union Confederation) violated the Public Offices Election Law by promising to make payments to Kobayashi's campaign staff. The individual, who was an executive of Kobayashi's election campaign, has appealed to a higher court.

Having lost the previous election, Kobayashi was struggling to raise campaign funds. Although Kobayashi claims she left everything to her election office, she should realize what is at issue: campaign methods that rely entirely on labor unions.

The funds provided by the Hokkaido teachers' union may have come from interest accrued on billions of yen in deposits held by the union. This vast sum represented allowances for senior teachers. The union opposed the introduction of the allowances and collected the money paid to its union members. It tried to return the money to the Hokkaido government, which refused to accept it.

In its ruling, the district court said that Rengo's "slush fund" was also used to support candidates in past local elections as well as Kobayashi's failed run in the 2005 Lower House election.

Were the labor unions absolutely above-board when making the payments? There should be a system to enable union members to check spending outlays. Union executives must also be held accountable.

Government employees are banned from taking sides in election campaigns. In particular, teachers are required to remain neutral. The Hokkaido teachers' union is known for its organizational strength. It rather looks as if its members went overboard in a number of election campaigns.

In recent years, some labor unions that supported DPJ candidates in elections have come under scrutiny. Union executives helping to run the campaigns of DPJ candidates fielded in the Miyagi No. 1 and No. 2 constituencies in the 2003 Lower House election were convicted of paying a business to solicit votes by telephone. A political organization made up of the Yamanashi teachers' union and others failed to list in a political fund report donations offered by teachers before the 2004 Upper House election.

Clearly, the DPJ relies on labor unions for election campaigns because its local chapters are still weak. Labor unions support particular candidates and exert pressure on union members to join the election campaigns. Sometimes, they even provide dubious funds to support campaigns that are barely within the bounds of the law. This trend shares something in common with corporatewide election campaigns. It is high time to end this practice.

With the change in political power, many labor unions under Rengo now support the ruling camp. It is a basic principle of democracy for individuals to take part in election campaigns of their own volition and vote according to their conscience. Voters should cast their ballots based on policies, and the election results should not be influenced only by campaign funds and the way supporters are mobilized.

It is important for labor unions to try to ensure that the voice of workers is reflected in policies. At the same time, however, they need to maintain a proper distance from political parties. Before the Upper House election to be held in summer, DPJ Secretary-General Ichiro Ozawa is busy trying to drum up support of organizations, including labor unions. If the party regards labor unions as just vote-gathering machines, that would be a gross anachronism. It must outgrow such thinking.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 26