Japan Press Weekly

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2008 March 26 - April 1 [WELFARE]

Unions and various other groups committed to solidarity at anti-poverty festival

Anti-poverty advocates on March 29 held a gathering at a junior high school in central Tokyo to make known to the public the extent of poverty and to help find ways to solve the problem.

About 1,600 people attended the first ever event of this kind sponsored by the Anti-Poverty Network in cooperation with more than 90 groups from various political and trade union affiliations, including the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) and the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo).

Participants enjoyed visiting various booths, including labor counseling booths, health checkup booths, and shops selling various goods or food items.

In classrooms and in the gymnasium, about 20 workshops were held on such themes as “Labor and Poverty” and “Children and Poverty”.

n the workshop “Japanese poverty as witnessed by foreign correspondents,” British, German, and Korean journalists spoke about how the issue of poverty in Japan is dealt with and how mass media are reporting on this topic in their respective countries.

In the lecture, “Ways to exercise the collective bargaining right,” Zenroren and its youth department performed a short play based on a true story to show how to conduct collective bargaining.

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councilors Nihi Sohei was present at the festival. Some other Dietmembers also attended.
- Akahata, March 30, 2008