His employer suddenly told him to look for another job. Just to cause them some trouble, he casually joined Kan-nama.

As he continued his activities though, he realized he wasn’t the only one struggling. There are people on the brink of not knowing how they’ll put food on the table tomorrow, and there are others who face discrimination simply because they belong to a social minority.

Kan-nama’s principle is, “The pain of others is my own pain.” Their goal isn’t to cause trouble for the company. He starts to acknowledge the significance of supporting people who are in vulnerable situations.

As he delved deeper into that mindset, he suddenly realized something.

“Isn’t the role of a labor union to protect human rights?”

The 17th testimony in our series features Daisuke Nishijima, who serves as the head of the Human Rights Department at Kan-nama.

It was Nishijima’s actions that prompted the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights to visit Kana-nama, which was facing criminal prosecution, to conduct an investigation.

“There are this many people getting fired”

I joined Kan-nama in 2008.

An executive from Kan-nama would often visit the ready-mix concrete company where I worked at the time, bringing the union newsletter. The president would take it with a smile, saying something like, “Hey there!” But as soon as the Kan-nama executive left, he’d toss the newsletter into the trash. While having lunch with the president, I asked, “Who was that guy?” He replied, “It’s the labor union—you’re not supposed to talk to them.” It really stuck with me that there was a labor union the company disliked that much.

After that, the company had to close because it was no longer getting any major orders, and the president’s son told me, “Go find a different job.” That’s when the idea of joining Kan-nama popped into my head—just to give the company’s management a hard time.

The colleagues who invited me to Kan-nama told me, “You’ve got to really commit to this.” At the time, I just casually replied, “Oh, okay.”

However, after joining Kan-nama, I felt incredibly guilty about having started my union activities so casually to cause trouble for the company.

Just as patients visit a hospital, labor unions serve as a refuge for individuals who have been laid off or mistreated by their employers. These people are struggling to survive. Honestly, I was shocked to discover that there are this many people getting fired.

At first, I knew nothing about the rights to organize, collective bargaining, and collective action, which are guaranteed by the Constitution. When I took part in a strike at a construction site in Osaka, I was skeptical—I wondered, “Will the construction really come to a halt?”—but I saw with my own eyes that it actually did. I thought it was amazing.

Wakayama Prefectural Police interrogates a case handled by the Osaka Prefectural Police

During the crackdown on Kan-nama that began in 2018, I participated in a strike in Osaka and was arrested twice on charges of obstruction of business by force. I was detained for 45 days.

While I was detained, I reflected on how difficult it must have been for those back in Kan-nama who were holding down the fort for me. During an earlier crackdown, I was active outside without being arrested or held, but that time was really tough. I felt powerless in the face of authority—a kind of emptiness. So this time, even though people sent me all kinds of care packages and came to protest in front of the police station after I was arrested and detained, I thought, “You don’t need to come see me anymore.”

There was a time when I thought the police were acting suspiciously. When I was re-arrested by the Osaka Prefectural Police, a detective from the Wakayama Prefectural Police conducted the interrogation.

I wondered why the Wakayama Prefectural Police were questioning me even though I had been arrested by the Osaka Prefectural Police. A detective from the Wakayama Prefectural Police said, “I came here to learn about an organization called Kan-nama.” His name was Narita.

After reading International Human Rights as a Weapon

I haven’t had the slightest thought of leaving Kan-nama. It’s not that I feel resentful about being oppressed or that I want to sugarcoat things. When I think about why I’m still at Kan-nama and what I’m looking for there, I suppose this is the only option.

However, my feelings are different now than they were when I first joined Kan-nama.

Kan-nama exercised the workers’ rights protected by the Constitution, but this was treated as a crime. I studied and reflected on the true nature of rights and encountered the important concept of “human rights.” Whether it involves law enforcement or judges, branding Kan-nama’s union members as criminals constitutes a violation of human rights.

I found the book, International Human Rights as a Weapon: Poverty, Media, and Discrimination in Japan (Shueisha Shinsho), written by international human rights scholar Sanae Fujita, to be incredibly fascinating. When I attended one of Dr. Fujita’s lectures in Osaka, I told her about the crackdown on Kan-nama. She was completely speechless at the time—she couldn’t believe Japan had come to this. After the lecture, when I joined her and a few others for dinner and explained the current situation, she introduced me to some human rights organizations in Osaka.

Some time later, Dr. Fujita called me at the Kan-nama’s office. She told me that the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights had decided to conduct an investigation on Kan-nama’s case, so I needed to make sure we were fully prepared. In the summer of 2023, UN representatives came to the Kan-nama’s office to conduct their investigation. In their report, they highlighted the criminal persecution of Kan-nama and urged the authority to protect workers’ rights.

Protecting human rights is what really matters. I’ve been attending symposiums and study sessions organized by scholars, lawyers, and organizations working on human rights issues. I’ve learned a variety of things, such as the fact that Japan has by far the widest gender gap among developed nations, that there is a United Nations convention to protect children’s rights, and that support for sexual minorities and people with disabilities is insufficient.

Last year, a Human Rights Department was established at Kan-nama, and I have been serving as its director.

We will continue to speak out about how the crackdown on Kan-nama constitutes a human rights violation. However, our efforts don’t stop there. I hope to contribute, even in a small way, to transforming this world—where children, people with disabilities, and members of sexual minorities face hardships—into a more compassionate society.

Currently, with advice from people who are working to secure children’s rights, we are working to establish an Ordinance on the Rights of the Child, starting with designated cities.

[Reporter’s Postscript] The day human rights cease to be just a slogan / Editor-in-Chief Makoto Watanabe

During my interview with Nishijima, there was a moment when he took me by surprise. When I asked him what had been the hardest part of his detention, he replied that it must have been harder for the Kan-nama members who were holding down the fort in his absence than it was for him.

Since he was in custody, there was nothing he could do. Meanwhile, the union members on the outside have to work tirelessly while Kan-nama is at a disadvantage. That’s the gist of it—that their situation is more challenging.

Nishijima constantly thinks of others, always putting others first. He joined Kan-nama out of a sense of resentment toward the company that had neglected him. When you consider that, the transformation in Nishijima’s mindset and actions is remarkable. People who feel they are “on the brink of life” turn to Kan-nama for help. I believe this change is the result of his work at Kan-nama—an organization guided by the principle “The pain of others is my own pain”—where he has consistently engaged with such individuals.

During my 25 years as a journalist, I have frequently come across terms like “human rights” and “a people-friendly society,” to the point that they have become clichés. However, these phrases have always seemed somewhat disingenuous to me. I even felt frustration when politicians, who only make an effort during election times, used those expressions.

However, when Nishijima speaks about human rights, his words carry genuine sincerity. I believe the day will come when human rights are no longer just empty rhetoric—a time made possible by the consistent and determined efforts of individuals like Nishijima.

(Originally published in Japanese on June 18 2025. Translation by Mana Shibata.)

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