Many of the union members of Kan-nama who were arrested and detained were executives, as the aim of the police and prosecutors was to destroy the organization.

One by one, members of the union leave. The remaining members endure the days without their leaders. Ikuo Hirata is one of them. In the midst of the oppression, he decides to become a director.

After graduating from Kyoto University Hirata joined Kan-nama. He was attracted to Kan-nam as it was a labor union that fought. He wants to continue to uphold the original principle of “protecting the lives of workers” for the next generation.

The strength of the movement to protect the foundations of working people’s livelihoods

I was a hardcore science major. I have been interested in Einstein’s “Theory of Relativity” since I was in elementary school.

I studied at the Department of Geology and Mineralogy in the Faculty of Science at Kyoto University. I thought it was better to learn something concrete than abstract theory. I also often went out for fieldwork.

While I was a student in 2011, the Fukushima No.1 Nuclear Power Plant accident occurred. At the time, I was involved in various social movements, such as those against constitutional revision and the security legislation, and I also joined the movement against the restart of nuclear power plants. However, the nuclear power plants did not stop.

In this situation, a friend told me about Kan-nama, which he said was a very powerful labor union that firmly protected the rights of workers.

I joined Kan-nama in 2017. At the time, I didn’t have a large vehicle license and couldn’t drive a mixer truck, so I worked as a guide. In December of that year, I experienced a strike.

I think the reason why Kan-nama has the power to act is because it protects the lives of workers. Protecting the foundations of life is itself a movement, and various activities are added on top of that, so I thought Kan-nama was powerful. A senior day worker said, “I never studied at school, but when I joined Kan-nama and studied the labor movement, it was interesting because it’s about us.” It was very refreshing and moving to me.

People who take the lead in anti-nuclear and anti-constitutional revision movements are retired and have free time. They also have a certain amount of pension. People who are busy raising children and working every day can’t engage in activism. With the number of people living in poverty increasing, it is natural in a sense that many of the people involved in social movements are elderly.

Seeing the members daunted, “This is serious”

I joined Kan-nama in 2017, and the crackdown began the following year in 2018. The authorities kept a close eye on organizations, so they arrested key figures one by one. This led to a loss of leadership. Watching from the bottom, I thought it must be difficult for an organization to come up with a policy in this situation.

When the crackdown began, the regional leader in charge of the Kyoto and Otsu area of Shiga Prefecture said strongly, “I might be attacked too. But if we have confidence in our movement, we’ll be fine.” However, when that regional leader was arrested, he left the organization. It was a bit of a shock to see someone who had said such a thing leave.

The leaders had been arrested, and the remaining union members were extremely daunted. I thought this was serious.

In November 2019, one year after the crackdown began, I was assigned as a director. The vice-chairman at the time asked me, “Hirata, how about becoming the next director?”

Up until then, I had been raising my voice in various ways, taking actions when needed. But I was just a newbie when I joined Kan-nama and my opinion did not get reflected. So when I was proposed to be a director, I wanted to become one. I wanted to be in a position where I could say something, even if just a little, in this situation.

When things get too bad, there’s no choice but to fight

The walls of reality are really thick. Just trying a little bit doesn’t change the world that much.

It may be possible to live my life by blending in with the world, but that doesn’t mean I can speak my true feelings.

When I’m with the members of Kan-nama, I can interact with them honestly and build a relationship of trust. It could be difficult to work in such an oppressed organization. But I feel like I can act honestly and without pretense.

In order to continue our activities while involving the younger generation, the first thing we need to do is for the labor union to continue fulfilling its role as a labor union. I think that is the minimum starting point. By fighting, we are securing decent wages and working conditions. The actual condition is extremely important. There are also issues of how to spread the movement, but first of all, we absolutely must protect the condition.

The situation is getting worse and worse, so I’m not optimistic at all, but on the other hand, if it gets too bad, we’ll have no choice but to fight. We just need to keep doing the right things properly. Without that, I don’t think we’ll ever meet people who appreciate our work.

[Reporter’s Postscript] In search of a “gut feel” on the ground / Editor-in-chief Makoto Watanabe

Looking back on Ikuo Hirata’s life, one can see his boldness in throwing himself into the field, one after another, in search of a “gut feel.”

He was interested in the theory of relativity of Albert Einstein, a genius physicist, from his elementary school days. After graduating from high school, he went on to study at the Faculty of Science at Kyoto University.

The Great East Japan Earthquake occurred while he was a student. Contrary to Einstein’s theory that discovered the potential of nuclear energy, the nuclear power plant accident took away the livelihoods of the people of Fukushima. He participated in various activism, including the anti-nuclear power plant movement.

But that is not enough. The government is acting as if social movements in Japan do not exist, and is restarting nuclear power plants, ignoring the Constitution and moving forward towards becoming a country that can wage war.

When he found out about Kan-nama, he felt that I could work honestly and without pretense with these people. He then got a large vehicle license to drive a ready-mix concrete mixer truck.

I can understand Hirata’s feelings, because we journalists also go on the ground to get a feel for it.

Kan-nama was labeled as an “anti-social force” by the police and prosecutors, and was subjected to cruel slander from the public. However, I am now convinced that the people of Kan-nama are the polar opposite of the label that the public has given them, because I decided to go meet them on the ground. A senior colleague was concerned about his junior, saying, “You’ve got a nasal voice. Have you caught a cold?” The office building was old, but the toilets were clean. It was only by visiting them on the ground that I was able to see the details that show the strength of Kan-nama as a team.

The fact that Hirata is a leader of the next generation is encouraging. Living conditions are getting worse and worse, and people can no longer speak freely. In an era where a sense of stagnation is in the air, it is reassuring to see him say, “We have no choice but to fight.”

“I’m enjoying life,” says Hirata. There is no sense of despair. If you jump right into the field, the path will open up. I hope that as many people as possible will experience this feeling as Hirata is.

(Originally published in Japanese on March 12, 2025. Translation by Mana Shibata.)

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