All Japan Seamen's Union (AJSU)

In January of 1896, sixty-eight (68) ship's officers set up the Kai-in (Seafarers) Club in Kobe, which was the forerunner of the Japan Seafarer��s Union and Japan's first seamen's labor organization.

In 1921, twenty-three (23) Japanese seamen's organizations united to form the Nippon Kai-in Kumiai (Japan Seamen's Union). The movement was inspired greatly by the experience of the seamen's representatives who participated in the Second General Conference (First General Conference on Maritime Affair) of the ILO which was held in Genoa, Italy in 1920.

During the General Conference of the International Labor Organization in 1924, the union representative who attended made his first contact with the International Transport Workers�� Federation (ITF). On October 26, 1929, the memorandum on affiliation with the ITF was signed and on March 5,1930, the union ITF membership was formalized when the organization acknowledged that international cooperation was essential in order to improve seamen's working conditions and welfare. However, under the pressure from the war time government, the JSU was forced to withdraw from the ITF in 1937 and disbanded and abolished in 1940.

In October 1945, only two months after the end of the World War II, the survivors and other maritime workers, based on their pre-war experience, formed the All Japan Seamen's Union (AJSU). The new JSU, as an industrial union, reunited officers, ratings and harbor seamen into a single organization and the maritime labor movement was resumed. Once again, the JSU joined in the ITF family in 1950.

In more than fifty years since then, the All Japan Seamen's Union has faced a gargantuan (though not insurmountable) task to become what it is today.

Nationally, the JSU also has a strong solidarity with other labor organizations in Japan. The JSU, as part of the Transport Workers Union in Japan has an automatic affiliation with Rengo (Japanese Trade Union Confederation) known as the Japanese National Center (Koun-Kokyo).

Internationally, the JSU is affiliated with the ITF (International Transport Workers' Federation) and communicates with other international organizations such as the IMO, ILO and OECD whereby the JSU earned internationally high reputation.

Today, the All Japan Seamen's Union (JSU) is a trade union that organizes maritime workers engaged in foreign and domestic trades, fisheries and waterfront. The JSU also organizes and covers non-domiciled seafarers employed in Japanese-beneficially owned fleets.

The JSU deployed its branches in 38 Japanese major ports and has two offices overseas, namely: the JSU Manila Welfare Office (Phil.) Corporation in Manila, Philippines, and the JSU Representative in Vietnam in Haipong, Vietnam.

Mission

The All Japan Seamen's Union is committed to improve the working conditions and social status of its members. Furthermore, the JSU also pledges to defend the seafarer's rights and play socially important roles in developing the full potential of every individual member by building their technical competence and instilling in them a concern for safety and environmental protection.

Activities

1. JSU attends various ITF meetings as a major affiliate in order to play an important role in drafting ITF policies as well as its implementation.
2. JSU negotiates with Japanese shipowners in relation to the TCC agreements accepted by the ITF covering all its non-domiciled special union members and then the ITF will issue the Blue Certificates for the agreement of the covered vessels.
3. JSU makes sure that the implementation of all concluded agreements is properly carried out.
4. JSU plays another important role to continuously exert its efforts in solving grievances from its non-domicile special union members employed in Japanese-beneficially owned fleet.