The members of Kan-nama have banded together and overcome oppression. Photo taken during a symposium in Okinawa Prefecture (Photo by Nanami Nakagawa on February 8, 2025)

The court put a stop to the case fabricated by the police and prosecutors.

On February 26, 2025, a sentencing hearing was held at the Kyoto District Court for Yuji Yukawa, chairman of Kan-nama of the ready-mix concrete industry labor union, and Kenichi Take, former chairman.

The Kyoto District Court acquitted the two men of 10-year prison sentences sought by the prosecution for charges including extortion and attempted compulsion.

According to the prosecution, Kan-nama planned to threaten the Kyoto Wide Area Ready Mixed Concrete Cooperative (Kyoto Cooperative), which is composed of managers of ready-mixed concrete businesses, by extorting settlement money and threatening strikes. However, Hiroshi Kawakami, the presiding judge, decided the exact opposite.

“It is hard to believe that they exploited the Kyoto Cooperative’s fear to extort cash from them.”

The verdict was supported by the fact that the Kyoto Cooperative, which filed the complaint, had a good relationship with Kan-nama, and the basic premise that strikes were labor union activities guaranteed by Article 28 of the Constitution.

This brings the total number of acquittals in the series of crackdowns on Kan-nama to 19 people in seven cases.

Applause erupted from the packed gallery

At 10:03 a.m., Presiding Judge Hiroshi Kawakami, Judge Shinsuke Danjo, and Judge Akira Nakatani entered the courtroom and, after a bow, the court opened.

Monitors installed on the walls on either side of the courtroom displayed the name of the case and the word “verdict” in large letters.

At 10:08, after confirming the pre-sentence arguments of Yukawa and Take, Presiding Judge Kawakami took a sip of the bottle of water he had brought with him and announced:

“Both defendants are not guilty”

The word “Not Guilty” appeared on the monitor.

Applause erupted from the packed gallery.

“Yes!” “Of course!”

Presiding Judge Kawakami soothed the gallery by saying, “Please be quiet,” and then began reading the verdict.

Strikes are a given

Presiding Judge Kawakami first defined Kan-nama as “an industrial and occupational labor union.”

This was the only case in which a labor law scholar testified in the series of cases against Kan-nama. That was former Ritsumeikan University President and Professor Emeritus of Ritsumeikan University, Mikio Yoshida. Yoshida has spoken about the role and importance of industrial labor unions. He said that it is natural for workers to realize their demands by forming solidarity beyond the boundaries of their companies and taking action against management, such as through strikes.

This influenced the decision on the so-called “Best Liner Incident,” which was the main reason why the heavy 10-year prison sentence was sought.

The Best Liner incident occurred in August 2014. When Best Liner, a company that arranged for the use of mixer trucks, was dissolved, the Kyoto Cooperative paid a “settlement money” of 150 million yen to Kan-nama as compensation for not fulfilling the promise of severance pay and full-time employment to employees.

In response to the prosecution’s claim that this constituted extortion, Presiding Judge Kawakami explained the legitimacy of the strike.

“This was made in response to the Kyoto Cooperative’s failure to fulfill the terms of the agreement.”

“Strikes and other labor distribution, by their very nature, are actions aimed at exerting a certain amount of pressure on employers and enforcing their claims, and are naturally intended to disrupt the normal operation of business.”

Furthermore, Judge Kawakami stated that the strike was carried out because the Kyoto Cooperative had not kept its promises, and that this was “natural.” The judge also determined that there had not even been any argument during the strike, and that there had been no intimidation. The judge also assessed that the amount of compensation, 150 million yen, was not high compared to past labor disputes.

Far from being a victim, the Kyoto Cooperative has a cooperative relationship with Kan-nama

In another extortion incident, the “Kinki Ready-Mixed Concrete Case,” Hiroshi Kugai, who was a director of the Kyoto Cooperative, was found not guilty because he was not a victim of Kan-nama but rather an accomplice.

The Kinki Ready Mixed Concrete incident occurred in November 2016. After Kinki Ready-Mixed Concrete, a member of the Kyoto Cooperative, suddenly filed for bankruptcy, the Kyoto Cooperative paid a “settlement money” of 60 million yen to Kan-nama. This was compensation for the salaries of employees undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, and for Kan-nama’s occupation of the Kinki Ready-Mixed Concrete plant to prevent it from being handed over to the Out Company, a company not affiliated with the Kyoto Cooperative. The occupation was necessary because if the Out Company were to operate, a price war for ready-mixed concrete could have begun. It was in the interest of both the Kyoto Cooperative and Kan-nama, which wanted to maintain the wage levels of workers. The occupation itself is a method used by labor unions to secure unpaid wages and retirement benefits.

The prosecution claimed that Kan-nama had intimidated the Kyoto Cooperative in this case as well.

However, Presiding Judge Kawakami pointed out that the two parties were in a cooperative relationship.

“The directors of the Kyoto Cooperative viewed the occupation of the plant by Kan-nama as being in line with the interests and goals of the Kyoto Cooperative.”

The prosecution’s basis was that Kugai, who served as a manager of the Kyoto Cooperative and was the liaison with Kan-nama, was the “victim.” The court overturned this and acknowledged that Kugai had a good relationship with Kan-nama.

As reported in “[The Fabricated Kyoto Incident – Part 1] Be Framed as a Criminal or Give a False Statement / The Regret of the Manager Who Sued Kan-Nama,” Kugai was intimidated by the police and prosecutors and ended up taking on the role of the victim.

“This gave us even more confidence that our actions were right”

When Yukawa saw the gentle expression on the face of Presiding Judge Kawakami as he entered the courtroom, he had a premonition that he would be found not guilty. This was because the presiding judge’s expression was also gentle when the Osaka High Court handed down a not guilty verdict for the Wakayama case. At that time, Presiding Judge Makoto Wada handed down the not guilty verdict on the basis of Article 28 of the Constitution, which guarantees the rights of labor unions.

After the acquittal, Yukawa told his supporters, “I’m honestly happy,” and expressed his determination to continue fighting.

“This is just the start. We will wipe away the label of Kan-nama as an anti-social force and establish the industrial union movement.”

Union members at Kan-nama also expressed their relief.

Secretary General, Naoya Hosono says, “The prosecution had indicted the suspect based on a story they had fabricated, but the court found that this was not the case.”

“The court recognized that a strike includes putting pressure on management for the purpose of negotiations. This gave us even more confidence that our actions were right.”

Kaoru Komi, a union member, had also been arrested and indicted. She was charged with theft after printing out and taking home six pages of documents listing salaries and other details while negotiating with management to improve employee conditions.

“When I heard the not guilty verdict, I felt more relief than joy,” Komi said, and continued:

“The prosecution made plausible claims, but the judge turned everything around. I felt that the judge had properly looked at the facts and evidence.”

“Today’s ruling proves that the labor movement is legitimate. In the past, union members, including myself, have been convicted in crackdowns, but I believe that will no longer happen.”

The vice-chairman, Kenichi Matsumura, was the target of this crackdown. Although he was arrested and indicted twice on charges of attempted compulsion and obstruction of business, he was found not guilty on both counts.

“It was natural that they were found not guilty because it was for union activities, but still I was honestly happy about today’s verdict. I was happier than when I was found not guilty.”

“The target of police and prosecutors is the chairman of the organization. Taking him into custody would deal a blow to the organization. But I was relieved that the ruling completely rejected the prosecutors’ claims. I realized that the tide is turning.”

(Originally published in Japanese on February 26, 2025. Translation by Mana Shibata.)

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