One moment they’re being threatened by gang members; the next, they’re being chased by a business owner in a backhoe. Kan-nama, which has been subjected to relentless attacks, is full of tough characters.

Among them, Secretary-General Naoya Hosono stands out as something of an exception. He studied economics and came to the Kan-nama from the Kanto region.

But Hosono is a force to be reckoned with as well. As a member of the next generation of leadership, he is working to revive Kan-nama, which has suffered repression.

Union newsletter where one can “see the faces of the members”

I’m originally from Niigata. I went to Rissho University in Saitama and after graduating, I went to Chuo University as an auditor for two years to study economics.

When I was in university, the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. left a deep impression on me. I wondered why such attacks could happen and why the U.S. subsequently plunged headlong into the “war on terror.” That’s when I became interested in social issues.

I joined a Tokyo-based group that opposed the military bases in Okinawa and was involved in social activism when someone I met there introduced me to Kan-nama. At the time, I knew absolutely nothing about the labor movement, but I joined Kan-nama anyway.

Until then, I had never had any connection to the Kansai region, and the members of Kan-nama are such passionate people—the likes of whom I had never met before—so I was quite surprised at first.

But they were really easy to get along with. They’d say exactly what they thought. They’d tell you when something was good and when it was bad.

Ever since I joined the union, I’ve been in charge of the union newsletter. While it was important to accurately reflect the union’s activities, I made an effort to produce a newsletter where readers could “see the faces of the members.” I created a section to introduce members, featuring stories like “My hobby is radio-controlled cars,” “My dog is so cute,” or “I just had a baby.” I included all kinds of personal anecdotes.

Reflecting on how the team “became passive” due to the absence of a leader

Since the police and prosecutors began cracking down on Kan-nama in 2018, I have been unable to include a section in our union newsletter introducing our members. This is because we need to protect our members and the organization from this crackdown.

I have a partner and two children, and when the crackdown began, my partner was worried. Thinking about the kids, she was anxious about what she would do if I were arrested by the police and taken away. She even told me that she’d prefer it if I found a different job. Although I intended to work at Kan-nama, I did have some anxiety.

We lost many colleagues due to the crackdown. It may be rude to say this, but there were also people who left Kan-nama even though they hadn’t been targeted by the company they worked for. I suppose they did it to protect themselves. That, in my opinion, is precisely what the oppressors wanted. Naturally, Kan-nama’s finances became increasingly strained.

With the current chairman, Yuji Yukawa, and other key members of Kan-nama in custody and absent, we ended up taking a somewhat passive stance. We did carry out our daily tasks, such as publishing the union newsletter and supporting our members. To be honest though, I feel we were unable to take the kind of action needed to break the deadlock.

Questions for the Judge

Kan-nama is at a critical juncture right now.

There don’t seem to be any labor unions in Japan that would go so far as to strike to secure workers’ demands. That’s probably why they face repression from those in power, but we simply cannot give up now. We have a tremendous sense of urgency and a strong sense of mission. Our influence may be small right now, but I believe our challenge is figuring out how to expand Kan-nama’s activities.

A guilty finding that implies Kan-nama’s actions went too far truly baffles me. They claim we should have resolved the issue through discussion, without giving any thought to why we resorted to such actions in the first place. They’re basing their judgment solely on written documents. Some people struggle to make ends meet, go about their daily lives, and worry about whether they will have a job today or tomorrow. I want to ask the judge: “Does that really protect the rights of working people?”

[Reporter’s Postscript] Let the Unconventional Remain Unconventional / Editor-in-Chief Makoto Watanabe

When asked if there was anything he wanted to say in closing, Hosono expressed his anger toward the judge who had handed down a guilty verdict in Kan-nama labor movement case. This was because the judge had reached a decision for the union members based solely on written documents.

Both Hosono and the judge are quite different from the Kan-nama union members, many of whom are concrete mixer truck drivers. But Hosono and the judge are worlds apart. After joining Kan-nama, Hosono got to know the members personally and forged deep bonds with them. He wrote articles for the union newsletter that conveyed the members’ warmth and humanity. The judge, on the other hand, makes no effort to understand the members’ humanity.

Hosono has really settled into life in Kan-nama. He even slips into the Kansai dialect from time to time. At the same time, he isn’t changing who he is just to fit in with those around him. The other union members accept this as a matter of course.

Chairman Yuji Yukawa made an interesting remark. He said he expects Hosono to “act strictly as a bureaucrat.” What he means is that even if other union members try to be flexible on minor issues, he wants Hosono to play the role of a conscientious bureaucrat who, in accordance with organizational rules, firmly says “absolutely not” and puts a stop to it.

Working together toward a common goal does not mean suppressing individuality; rather, it means bringing out the best in each person. I believe that Hosono, who thrives among the tough competitors, has the potential to draw those who shun Kan-nama without good reason into the labor movement.

(Originally published in Japanese on Jun 4 2025. Translation by Mana Shibata.)

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