When the Kyoto District Court handed down its acquittal to Chairman Yuji Yukawa, someone bowed deeply to presiding Judge Hiroshi Kawakami and said, “Thank you very much!” The person was Yoshiki Kimura, the chief vice-chairman of Kan-nama.

A team needs a philosophy. But that alone does not give them the strength to act. Moreover, the police and prosecutors have joined forces to crack down on Kan-nama. To fight back, ordinary solidarity is not enough.

In the sixth collection of testimonies, Kimura spoke about Kan-nama from a perspective of  compassion.

“It’s none of your business” to prosecutor who advised him to leave

When I was 25, I bought a 5-ton mixer truck and started working for a ready-mix concrete company, but the company went bankrupt. That’s when I joined Kan-nama. At the time, I had heard of the term labor union, but I had no idea what it meant.

I was arrested by the Osaka Prefectural Police in 2018. I was charged with intimidation and obstruction of business for trying to stop a truck that was trying to ship ready-mix concrete during a strike. There were about 20 to 30 police officers there. I could feel that they were definitely there with that intention. I also heard that “a high-ranking police official from Tokyo was coming.”

During the interrogation by the prosecutor, he said to me, “You say that this is oppression, but we are dealing with this because a crime has been committed. Perhaps it would be better if you quit Kan-nama.” I replied, “I don’t think it’s a crime. It’s none of your business to tell me to quit Kan-nama.”

There were four union members from Kan-nama at the company where I work. However, while I was under arrest, they left Kan-nama one by one, and only one other person remained. The last one also told my lawyer, “I’m sorry to tell you while he’s under arrest, but I can’t continue. Please tell Mr. Kimura that.”

I said this to the lawyer who came to see me with a message.

“Please tell him that I said that he doesn’t have to put up with it and that it’s okay if he leaves the union.”

It was tough. The company was probably putting a lot of pressure on him and I don’t think he could bear it. I couldn’t tell him to hang in there until I got back to the union. I told him not to push himself too hard.

When he planned to hold a funeral for his son just with the family

The reason I continue to work at Kan-nama is not to raise my salary or anything like that, but for my colleagues, and the biggest decisive factor was Chairman Yukawa. “I want to follow this person” is what I felt most strongly.

When I lost my son, I was planning to hold a funeral with just my family, but Chairman Yukawa called on everyone in Kan-nama, and a considerable number of people came to the funeral. I trust Chairman Yukawa’s humanity. I don’t owe him anything or anything like that, but if he is in trouble, I want to do something to help him.

I want judges to look at the essence of things, to carefully examine the details and why this happened, and then make a sound ruling.

I will not compromise on what I believe to be right. I will overcome any hardship I face. I will change the world. That’s what I believe.

I want to convey to people that, “We should all work hard together.”

[Reporter’s Postscript] “Compassion” is necessary in the midst of a fight / Editor-in-Chief Makoto Watanabe 

When the Kyoto District Court handed down its acquittal to Chairman Yukawa, there was a stark contrast between the gallery on the right side of the judge and the gallery on the left side. The gallery on the right side were mainly union members and supporters of Kan-nama. The gallery on the left side were business owners who had claimed to have been “victimized” by Kan-nama. There were also investigators from the Kyoto Prefectural Police.

At the beginning of the trial, the defendants were found “not guilty,” and one of the managers on the left muttered, “Why?” and left the courtroom. One by one, the other managers also rose to their seats and left the courtroom. The left half of the courtroom became empty.

Seeing this, I realized that there were two crucial differences between the management and police and the Kan-nama.

First, while business leaders and the police are driven by “selfish desires,” the activities of Kan-nama are supported by ideals. Business leaders believe that “when the money runs out, the relationship ends,” and the police lose their enthusiasm if they sense that it will affect their career advancement, but Kan-nama is driven by the ideal of a labor union to “achieve industrial democracy.” Therefore, it is not fragile.

Another thing is that the members of Kan-nama have a deep compassion for their colleagues.

During the interview, Kimura didn’t show much emotion. He spoke calmly, with a strong will hidden deep in his heart. There was something tremendous about it.

However, there was a time when his eyes suddenly became kinder. While he was in detention, he learned that a union member from the same company wanted to quit Kan-nama.

“The company was probably putting a lot of pressure on him and I don’t think he could bear it. I told my lawyer who came to see me, ‘Please tell him not to push himself too hard.’”

I thought that Kimura was a man of deep feelings. That is why, when Chairman Yukawa came to his son’s funeral with many of the members from Kan-nama, he decided, “I’ll do it for this man.”

Some people may think that it is outdated to bring in compassion, but that is something that can only be said by those who are not in the midst of a fight.

The management is using gangsters to intimidate Kan-nama. The police and prosecutors are treating Kan-nama as a gangster, not cracking down on gangsters, and throwing union members into jail one after another. They are ignoring the constitution.

When you face such a situation, your mind and body are worn down. If you are involved in a fierce fight, you need companions who are connected by compassion. I realized this when I interviewed Kimura.

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

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