The Toho strikes (東宝争議, Tōhō sōgi), also translated as the Toho labor disputes or Toho labor upheaval, were a series of strike actions in Japan taken by workers in the Toho labor union against Toho management between 1946 and 1948. The third and largest action was notable for the union's months-long occupation of the Toho film studio, and their eventual removal by police backed by the United States Army. The conflict between the union, backed by Sanbetsu, and management, backed by Nikkeiren (later the Japan Business Federation) became "the focus of a nation-wide confrontation between capital and labor," and the union's defeat marked the beginning of a fundamental shift of power from labor in Japan.
Background During World War II, Toho complied with government demands to produce militant propaganda films. Despite shortages of film stock and destruction of movie houses, production was never completely halted and the Toho film studio in Kinuta was too remote to be damaged by the bombing of Tokyo. After the Japanese surrender, the Allied Occupation government enacted a campaign of liberalization in Japan, which included the return of freedom of expression, promotion of labor unions and democratization of the economy. A successful strike by the Shochiku employees' union chaired by screenwriter Kogo Noda encouraged the formation of unions at the other major film studios by the end of 1945. The employees' union at the Toho-Kinuta studio was founded on 5 December 1945 and expanded into the Toho employees' union on 17 Feb 1946. In December, the Japanese Diet passed the Trade Union Law, modelled on the American National Labor Relations Act of 1935. Following the American model, the studio unions organized into an umbrella craft union, the All-Japan Film Employee Union, later expanded and renamed to the Japan Motion Picture and Theatrical Worker's Union, or Nichi-ei-en (日映演), which joined the Congress of Industrial Unions.
Strike actions After the initial formation of unions in 1945, demands were met for salary increases to keep up with rampant inflation. The Toho union made further demands, including involvement in management and planning, which management found unacceptable. The union grew to 5,600 members including workers at main and branch offices, and called its first strike on March 20, 1946. After a 15-day strike, management agreed to a wage increase and the establishment of a production administration committee consisting of union members.
October 1946 strike Nichi-ei-en planned a general strike within the film industry for October 15, 1946, issuing a series of demands including each company's recognition of Nichi-ei-en as their employees' collective bargaining agent. On October 6, a group of fifty workers broke away to form an alternative union, which would not take part in the strike. The first Toho union went on strike alongside the unions of Daiei and Shochiku and the rest of Nichi-ei-en, but by October 25, Nichi-ei-en had abandoned collective negotiation, and each union was left to negotiate individually with their company. The strike at Toho continued into November; but on November 13 the "Society of the Flag of Ten" — actors Denjiro Okochi, Kazuo Hasegawa, Susumu Fujita, Setsuko Hara, Hideko Takamine, Isuzu Yamada, Takako Irie, Toshiko Yamane, Ranko Hanai, and Yataro Kurokawa — alienated by the militancy of the main Toho union and wanting to return to work, formed another union and were joined by around 450 studio employees, including directors Kunio Watanabe and Yutaka Abe. Takeo Itō, who was elected union chairman, later characterized the split as a conflict between eager, rising directors such as Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Sekigawa, and Satsuo Yamamoto, emboldened by the end of the war, and the established stars who disliked being forced to do things by the union such as parading in the streets, and wanted to produce entertaining films. The original union, reduced to nearly a third of its original size, reopened negotiations with management on November 18. The contracts offered by both union and management were based on Occupation government samples from the American auto industry and their contents were similar, and the two sides came to terms, ending the strike on December 3. Among the terms were an eight-hour day, shop steward system and union involvement regarding administration, personnel affairs, and the production of films. Due to a closed shop provision with the first union, Toho negotiated separately with the second and third unions, which split off to establish Shintoho in March 1947. For 1947 Toho management had planned to produce 24 films. However, production was controlled by a committee including union members, which approved only 13 films through 1947, compared to 18 films in 1946. Filmmakers were given unprecented creative control, as well as generous shooting schedules and generous budgets, two or three times higher than the average film budget of ¥5 million. While many of the films were critically acclaimed, Toho lost ¥75 million in 1947. Yoshio Osawa was removed as president by investors in March, and replaced by Tanabe Katamaru who fell ill in December after eighty-three all-night negotiations in his time as president. Tetsuzo Watanabe, a specialist in labor law, was appointed as president in December 1947. Under the leadership of Watanabe, who stated his aim of defeating "the two kinds of reds at Toho: communists and red budgets", Toho management announced a return to producing 24 films per year, with the budget of each film limited to ¥6.5 million. In addition, the union's contract would be revised to reverse the gains made by the second strike, including the abolition of the shop steward system. The union refused to co-operate.
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