Suspicion of enormous tax evasion at Japan's biggest trade union -- Akahata
editorial, December 22 (excerpts)

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors' Office special investigation
division indicted the All Japan Prefectural and Municipal Workers' Union
(Jichiro) -- Japan's largest union -- and its former president on charges of
tax evasion.

This is not only about a former union leader's personal corruption; tax
evasion was committed by the organization led by the union's former
president.

The prosecutors have charged that Jichiro concealed about 600 million yen
income in two years up to March 1998 resulting in tax evasion amounting to
220 million yen. It is alleged that the union got commissions for the sales
of mutual aid insurance policies from an insurance company run by a former
union board member and kept the money in an off-the-book account.

Clearly, Jichiro has forgotten that the trade union mission is to unify
workers in order to defend their interests. It instead has set up a
structure of making undercover money, and hidden its income and expenditure.
That's why it was indicted. This represents the union's political and moral
downfall.

What is worse, 70 million yen was reportedly used as hush money to a
right wing gangster organization which smelled Jichiro's internal financial
problem arising from falsified accounts and the union president's usurpation
of the organization's money to buy his house. This shows that some union
leaders are so corrupt as to abandon the great cause of the trade union
movement.

The incident reminds us of another Jichiro problem undermining union
democracy. Out of union membership fees which Jichiro collects, 25 yen per
member a month is donated to candidates of a political party which Jichiro
supports. Political activity funds it donated in fiscal 2002 amounts to 320
million yen.

The 25 yen donation is compulsory, and members who refuse to pay will be
deprived of their membership. How the funds were actually used is not
revealed to members.

To eradicate corruption, it is necessary to end this undemocratic scheme
of creating political funds.
The question is whether Jichiro, which will hold an extraordinary
convention in late January, can clean up the organization. (end)