Yūaikai

The Yūaikai (友愛会, literally Fraternity Association), or the Friendly Society, was a pioneering Japanese labor organization founded by Suzuki Bunji in 1912. Established during a period of industrial growth and social change in the Taishō era, the Yūaikai grew from a small mutual-aid group of fifteen members into Japan's first national labor federation, with 30,000 members by 1919. It was the forerunner of the Japan General Federation of Labor (Sōdōmei), which became the dominant force in the pre-war Japanese labor movement.

Initially conceived as a moderate, reformist organization, the Yūaikai sought to improve workers' lives through education, mutual aid, and the promotion of harmony between labor and capital. Its early philosophy was shaped by Suzuki's Christian humanitarianism and the ideas of social reformers from the Social Policy Association. However, the organization's trajectory was profoundly altered by the social and economic turmoil of World War I. Suzuki's exposure to the American Federation of Labor (AFL) pushed the Yūaikai towards a more assertive, union-focused model.

Between 1917 and 1919, the Yūaikai was swept up in a wave of labor unrest and faced increasing government repression. This period saw the rise of new, more radical leaders within the organization, including intellectuals inspired by the Russian Revolution and ambitious worker-leaders from its burgeoning regional federations, particularly in the Kansai. This internal ferment, combined with external pressures, culminated in the Yūaikai's transformation at its 1919 convention. It adopted a new democratic structure, a militant platform of political and economic demands, and a new name: Sōdōmei. The Yūaikai's evolution from a cautious mutual-aid society to a national labor federation marked a crucial turning point in the history of the Japanese labor movement.