Published on July 12, 2019.
This chapter examines the raid on Kansai Ready-Mixed Concrete, the political environment surrounding unions, alleged ties with North Korea, links to left-wing activism in Okinawa, and the realities of labor-dispute businesses that target small and medium-sized companies.
Rather than reducing the issue to Moritomo Gakuen or Diet member Kiyomi Tsujimoto, it warns that the matter should be understood as part of the deeper structural darkness surrounding unions.

July 12, 2019.
The Political Environment Surrounding the Unions.
Kansai Ready-Mixed Concrete, which was raided this time, is also a union.
And it does not even try to hide its relationship with North Korea.
[From a Politician’s Viewpoint] The Raid on Kansai Ready-Mixed Concrete, the Darkness of the Unions, and the Shadow of North Korea.
Could this shake part of the opposition parties?
[Share this if you think it has nothing to do with labor issues.]
Kansai Ready-Mixed Concrete was raided.
What deserves special mention is the video from the scene.
It makes one feel that these are extremely dangerous people, and as a politician, I want to make the reality widely known to citizens.
Those who raise the banner of “labor activism” sometimes wear the mask of justice, while their words and behavior are as rough as those of gangsters.
Also, in the latter half of the video, their vehicle appears.
It is that famous one on the Internet, painted in “North Korean colors.”
Is a “union,” which can even give an image of peace, connected with North Korea?
As for Kansai Ready-Mixed Concrete, which was raided this time, rumors of interests connected with North Korea have never ceased.
It is said that large quantities of gravel were extracted in North Korea, where there are many mountainous areas, and there are also claims that especially during the bubble economy, concrete was in short supply and “gravel from North Korea” became one kind of vested interest.
However, it is also said that the economic sanctions against North Korea dealt a heavy blow to this.
As for whether that is true or not, I must say that it is beyond my authority as a city councilor to determine.
Yet rumors are even flying around that the “gravel interests with North Korea” amounted to the scale of one trillion yen.
I think the figure has probably taken on a life of its own.
Even so, the theory that they wanted those interests lifted before the Tokyo Olympics, when they should have become a cash cow, may reflect their internal situation.
In fact, as you will understand if you watch the video, the way they shout and their attitude are exactly those of gangsters.
Some people reading this may wonder where “labor activism” has anything to do with it, but please be reassured.
I do not understand it at all either.
What do North Korea, gravel, and workers have to do with one another?
Are they even workers anymore?
It would certainly be possible here to connect this with the matter of “election support” for Diet member Kiyomi Tsujimoto.
She was one of the people who ignited the Moritomo Gakuen issue, and the close relationship between Kansai Ready-Mixed Concrete and Tsujimoto is so well known that it is even mentioned in books.
I have also secured several materials.
Furthermore, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Aso, whom they are desperately denouncing this time, is a central figure in Aso Cement.
Since it is in the neighboring electoral district, it is also a matter right before my eyes.
Of course, it is an extremely large company.
In some parts of the Internet, there is a theory that this is “purely domestic ready-mixed concrete versus North Korean gravel interests,” but my own inference is somewhat different.
It may certainly be true that the police have begun to get serious about “labor groups with deep ties to North Korea.”
If that is the case, then Kyoto University, which is suspected of having contributed to nuclear development, also seems to me to become a target.
There is even an associate professor who was banned from reentering Japan.
This matter should be seen somewhat separately from Moritomo Gakuen and the Ministry of Finance.
Leaving aside whether I know something or not, I would like you to stay with me for a little while.
I believe that the target this time is “the unions.”
Of course, being connected with North Korea may be one of the conditions, but a real darkness that has not been much touched upon on the Internet spreads out there.
Taking into account movements in the Diet as well, I would like to introduce some of it.
Introducing the Video.
I truly felt that it was a “dangerous organization.”
I cannot understand at all where there is any function of protecting workers.
Rather, it made me feel that it is an entity one must not associate with.
It is about six minutes long, but those who have time should watch it.
Now, in the latter half, “the famous vehicle painted in North Korean colors” appears.
The Darkness of the Unions.
Since this becomes a somewhat specialized topic, I will write by omitting quite a lot.
Corporations have something called “work rules,” and these are equivalent to the laws inside the company.
Labor-management relations are stipulated there, but small and medium-sized companies are often in a muddled state.
In reality, managers themselves often go out into the field and work, and the actual situation is that they say, “I do not really understand that kind of thing.”
Now, what kinds of harm arise when a company’s work rules are sloppy?
For example, if someone is dismissed, it can develop into a major problem.
For example, if the matter spreads to “red lawyers” through Communist Party assembly members or Minshō, the company may even face the risk of bankruptcy.
Suppose that a taxi driver or the driver of a ready-mixed concrete truck comes to work after drinking.
The company decides that he cannot work that day and sends him home.
Furthermore, suppose that he is repeatedly late, is not properly engaged in his duties, tears a female employee’s clothes, gropes her upper body, chases her around, and causes something that is less like sexual harassment and more like a quasi-rape incident.
Then suppose the company president says to that employee, “You’re fired!”
Do you understand what happens?
In fact, if the work rules are not properly prepared, the company loses.
For most of the damage, the burden of proof is placed on the management side, and if they make that the reason for dismissal, they must prove it.
Oral statements may be insufficient, and it is necessary to keep written records.
Specifically, this means written reprimands.
However, the company must write into its internal law, that is, its work rules, “If you do this kind of thing, you must write a reprimand.”
Those rules must be concluded by agreement between management and workers, and based on the work rules, the company must obtain a written reprimand “each time trouble is caused.”
If they are not prepared, what happens?
First, the cry goes up: “This is unfair dismissal!”
At the same time, the employee runs to the Labor Standards Inspection Office.
In the example just mentioned, the matter is minimized into claims such as, “Even though I had not been drinking, I was forbidden from driving and deprived of my job,” or, “Rumors were spread that I had sexually harassed someone, and I was mentally driven into a corner. There was a little fooling around, but I apologized.”
Furthermore, claiming, “I suffered power harassment,” the employee demands leave from work, and during that period, even if the facts are different, he undergoes treatment for depression or something similar and extracts 60 or 70 percent of his salary.
Does that pass?
In fact, it does.
Or rather, it is happening frequently.
For a company with five or six employees, this is unbearable.
The president himself is working on-site, and if labor costs for one extra person arise there, the company tilts toward collapse.
Some may say they have never heard of such a thing, but such acts actually exist.
I myself have been involved in several cases, and I have also requested the cooperation of Diet members and begun investigating the reality.
In fact, I am one of the people who have been pursuing this for several years.
There are quite a number of people involved, and hearings have also been conducted on the company side.
Then, are there large numbers of workers who possess such know-how?
Of course, that is not the case.
This is where “unions” appear.
Even if they undertake work virtually free of charge, or for example dispatch lawyers, they still “make money.”
That is because companies are charged millions or tens of millions of yen, and even if it is divided up, “it becomes millions of yen.”
It means that there is no problem even if the lawyers’ fees are effectively taken on for free.
I am not saying that all unions are like this.
However, because the actual situation is unclear, it is a fact that “malicious cases” exist.
Why the Reality Does Not Come to Light.
There are two reasons.
One is that most of the companies are “small and medium-sized companies.”
Companies that have thoroughly prepared work rules and are skilled at corporate defense are not targeted.
To put it plainly, “companies above a certain size are not targeted.”
Companies with small numbers of employees, where everything is unprepared, become the targets.
An exception would be Ari-san Mark Moving Company.
In that case, it is true that the company side also had faults.
The greatest of those faults was that the review of work rules and related matters was insufficient, even though the company was large in scale.
In fact, regarding employee benefits and similar matters, there were many things beyond what the law requires, and I had the impression that the management was, if anything, too conscientious.
Yes, I have actually met them, and I know what the union did.
I would like to release the detailed materials.
It happened around the time when I became absorbed in the Naha city council election, and I missed the timing a little.
The targets are not so much small and medium-sized companies as tiny enterprises.
Then what happens?
The reality is that their voices are too small for politicians and the administration to pick up.
For example, a large company may have a direct pipe to Diet members, but for a tiny company, having an acquaintance who is a city councilor is about the limit.
In the first place, the reality is that they do not know where to consult.
People say “president, president,” but tiny companies do not have that kind of know-how.
A lawyer is brought in, and depending on the case, they are dragged into litigation, and they are tossed around from the very question of “What are work rules?”
The de facto victims lack legal know-how and political power.
They were unable to express this reality well.
The second reason.
Under the name of “settlement,” they pay enormous sums of money, and at that time they are often made to pledge that they will not disclose the matter.
Even though they have finally settled, they are too afraid to speak out.
Since they have finally paid money and become free, they probably do not want to talk about it.
To put it simply, they end up crying themselves to sleep.
Or else, the company’s strength cannot hold out and it goes bankrupt.
Just as the dead tell no tales, no voices rise up.
What Is a Union in the First Place?
In fact, there is no clear definition.
It feels somewhat like a labor union, but strictly speaking, it is different.
“It is a labor union that organizes workers of small and medium-sized companies as its target, and is organized not inside a company but with a certain region as the place of solidarity. Its characteristic is that individuals can join.”
Labor unions are often inside companies, and they do not intend to bankrupt the company that is their host.
There is also a certain degree of boundary.
However, because a union of this kind is not an in-company labor union, to put it bluntly, it does not matter even if it kills the host.
Therefore, it is extremely fierce.
Also, labor unions are governed by a law called the Labor Union Act, and unions of this kind also receive the benefits of that law.
For example, if a former employee who has been dismissed joins a general union, that is, a union, there are cases where the company must respond to collective bargaining even after the dismissal.
That is when the issue is whether the dismissal is valid.
To put it very roughly, “Even if an employee who clearly had problems is fired, if the former employee joins a union after the dismissal, the company must accept collective bargaining from the union that the employee joined after dismissal.”
Since the labor-management relationship has disappeared after dismissal, one may think there is no such obligation, but it is necessary to do this.
Especially if the response is mishandled in the early stages, it affects everything in the later battle.
If a manager with no knowledge casually responds by saying, “What is this about?” then even if lawyers are brought in later, it is almost completely meaningless.
In the first place, if there are no work rules, it is a situation with neither armor plate nor cannon.
Or it is like being thrown onto a battlefield without sword or armor.
Even if a lawyer is brought in, that does not mean anything can be solved.
In the first place, if it is an in-company labor union, they are people from the same company.
Even if they have the powerful authority known as the three labor rights, they will probably not wield them recklessly and beat the company to pieces.
But unions of this kind are different.
It is fair to say that they use the same weapons while coming to kill the company.
As for the internal reality, is it not a success fee?
Returning to the chapter title, if I am asked, “What is a union?” I actually do not have a clear answer.
It is “something outside the company” that declares it possesses the same legal power as a labor union, and in fact makes full use of the law.
I do not really know whether it can simply be called a labor union.
If one says, “They are the same!” I think labor unions would get angry.
What they are doing is just too different.
The Political Environment Surrounding the Unions.
Kansai Ready-Mixed Concrete, which was raided this time, is also a union.
And it does not even try to hide its relationship with North Korea.
For example, it refers to North Korea as “the Republic,” and even from its choice of terminology, it shows an attitude of submission.
It kills small and medium-sized companies and, to put it plainly, “converts them into cash.”
Where does that money go?
Oh yes, come to think of it, Kansai Ready-Mixed Concrete has also been active in Okinawa.
■The March 12 Vehicle Parade Was Introduced in an Okinawa Times Article■
The following is from the Okinawa Times article.
“Release Chairman Yamashiro on Bail.”
A parade of 250 mixer trucks and other vehicles in Osaka.
On the 12th, a parade of 250 mixer trucks and other vehicles carrying the slogan “No to the Henoko New Base” was held in a downtown area of Osaka City.
It was carried out in line with the spring labor offensive by the Kansai Ready-Mixed Concrete Industrial Policy Council, made up of four labor unions.
Every year, it raises Henoko as one of its main slogans, and this year it also demanded the release on bail of Hiroji Yamashiro, chairman of the Okinawa Peace Movement Center, whose detention was continuing.
Among the demands for wage increases, there were also mixer trucks carrying banners with Chairman Yamashiro’s photograph and the words “Do not allow unjust long-term detention.”
About 700 people participated in the rally before the departure.
Kenichi Take, chairman of the Kansai District Ready-Mixed Concrete Branch of the All Japan Construction, Transport and General Workers’ Union, which is one of the constituent organizations, recalled inviting Chairman Yamashiro to last year’s rally and emphasized, “The arrest and detention are attacks designed to crush the struggle. We absolutely cannot recognize the construction of the new base.”
The parade also passed in front of the headquarters of Fukada Salvage & Marine Works, which is in charge of boring surveys off Henoko, and raised voices of protest.

Kenichi Take, chairman of the Kansai District Ready-Mixed Concrete Branch of the All Japan Construction, Transport and General Workers’ Union, which is one of the constituent organizations.
Every year, Henoko is raised as one of the main slogans, and this year they also demanded the release on bail of Hiroji Yamashiro, chairman of the Okinawa Peace Movement Center, whose detention was continuing.
I have already described the relationship between North Korea and this union.
But I want people to think about the fact that they are even going all the way to Okinawa, and to ask: “What was the original source of this money?”
As for the video at the beginning, were the managers of various companies “negotiated with” in that kind of tone?
Were they made to pay severance money, or were their companies driven into bankruptcy, and did that money become “activity funds for the left”?
It was difficult to uncover this area, but a reasonable number of cases have now been gathered, and I think there will also be movements by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and others.
For Diet members to move, it is difficult unless there is quite a lot of evidence.
However, although it took more than a year, we have gathered case collections, and several times officials from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare came to the Diet members’ office building, and we held various discussions.
Oh yes, just a few days ago, a Liberal Democratic Party Diet member finally uttered the word “union” in the Diet.
Other conservative lines are also moving, and in fact quite a number of Diet members are moving through lobbying-style methods.
And that through thoroughly covert action.
Because this is the background, I cannot really agree with the way people say things like “It is Tsujimoto and Moritomo!” or “This is deeply connected with the current matter!” as if it were a state-directed investigation triggered by the Ministry of Finance document issue.
After all, this is an organization connected with North Korea, one that even travels to Okinawa to conduct activities, and whose reality is as described above.
Even if the victims are groups of small and medium-sized companies, and even if the input to the political side is faint, it is precisely at such times that it is the duty of local assembly members to become eyes and ears.
This raid is not something so simple.
I think the matter of the Ministry of Finance, and the headwind against the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, are quite serious.
But to identify this with those matters seems to me to be an act that even minimizes the union problem.
The darkness is much deeper.
There are many things we cannot write about, regarding what we are seeing on the ground, but it is terrible.
There are things not written on the Internet.
That is the case when information is quietly gathered and covert action proceeds internally.
As for this raid, I believe that what lies behind it is the reality of the unions, and their darkness.
I can hear the footsteps of something beginning to change.
Turn the age.
Move the nation.
Those who think, “Let us take a small step together!” please like and share on Facebook, and spread this on Twitter.