About the ZENKYO- History and Activities
The predecessors of All Japan Teachers and Staffs Union are Conference of All Japan Teachers and Staffs Union as a national organization that organized by Prefectural Teachers and Staff Unions, and Japan Senior High School Teachers and Staff Union (NIKKOKYO) that had a long history in Japan.
All Japan Teachers and Staffs Union was formed as a national organization by these two organizations, Prefectural Teachers and Staff Unions, and National Federation of Private School Teachers and Staffs Unions (ZENKOKUSHIKYOREN) on March 6th, 1991.
ZENKYO has been continuing activities to achieve its goals and aims that stated in a platform of ZENKYO. In addition, Japan Senior High School Teachers and Staff Union (NIKKOKYO) disbanded constructively to be combined with ZENKYO on April 1st, 2014. ZENKYO will make great progress in activities with NIKKOKYO’s history, and strengthen itself as a representative national organization.
- Demanding Realization of Small-size Classes, and Increasing Budgets for Education by “Nationwide Signature Campaign for Education”
ZENKYO has been continuing an activity, “Nationwide Signature Campaign for Education”; scale is specially mentioned in Japan, to demand increasing the number of teachers and staff, realization of small-size classes and decreasing parents’ burdens of tuition since 1989. Every year, more than 10 million signatures are submitted to the Diet, and the signatures dramatically influence politics.
Actually, Japanese standard class-size has gradually changed from 45 children to 35 children in these past few decades.
On the other hand, Japanese Government had reserved article 13-2 (b) (c), part 3 of The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). It means that “free upper secondary education” is approaching to realizing little by little.
- “National Assembly for Educational Research” with Parents, Teachers, Staff and the People
ZENKYO convenes “National Assembly for Educational Research” with other 27 educational organizations and children every summer. Usually, there are around ten thousands participants including teachers, staff, parents, local residents, educators and children during 3 days. The participants have discussions and communication regarding national immediate problems of education. Moreover, subcommittees are opened for each subject or theme, and participants study specializations of teachers and staff with university professors.
- Activities to Make the Most of ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, 1966
ZENKYO has been striving activities to improve working conditions of teachers and staff refer to ILO/UNESCO Recommendations concerning the Status of Teachers, 1966 for protecting their lives and rights, and children’s rights of study.
In 2002, ZENKYO submitted Committee of Experts on the Application of the Recommendations concerning Teaching Personnel (CEART) allegations against the Japanese government on non-observance of the 1966 Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. The Ministry of Education and Science of Japan has promoted a system of personnel management for “incompetent teachers” and new teacher appraisal system.
CEART requested the government to make efforts for resolution of the problems from the first recommendations until the fifth recommendations. The report and the recommendations of the CEART mentioned that importance of good practices and deepen social dialogues between the government and teachers unions.
ZENKYO and affiliated organizations have been striving to improve situations of teachers and staff on the report and the recommendation of the CEART.
In addition, ZENKYO has submitted CEART new allegations against the Japanese government with regard to “work long hours” and situations of being employed as “non-permanent teachers” in January 2014.
- Aiming Elimination Nuclear Weapons, Peace and Democracy with Protecting the Constitution of Japan.
ZENKYO has striven for protecting Article 9, the clause on the renunciation of war, of the constitution of Japan under the slogan, “Never Send Again Our Children to Battlefields!”, and also struggled against dispute settlement by military power and enforcement right of collective self-defense with people who seek peace from every grade of society. ZENKYO has resolutely continued activities for elimination nuclear weapons from all over the world as a union in the only nation has been hit by nuclear bombs. In addition, ZENKYO has made efforts to protect children from radiation damages, and demands elimination nuclear weapons from all over the world to remember the accident of Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Plants.
- International Activities
ZENKYO has bilateral communications with 20 teachers and staff unions of 14 countries on each occasion. “ZENKYO NEWSLETTER” is published every year as a newspaper of the union. The newsletters are sent to more than 100 addresses including teachers and staff unions in Asia-Pacific region, unions in other areas and individuals.
On May 29th, 2012, ZENKYO submitted the application for membership to the Education International with considering importance joining international activities.
- Organization
ZENKYO is a nationwide organization includes 48 Prefectural Teachers and Staff Unions and National Federation of Private School Teachers and Staffs Unions. Any university or technical college teachers and staff unions are not included.
The great majority of the union members of each Prefectural Teachers and Staff Union belongs to kindergartens, elementary schools, junior high schools, high schools and special support schools.
The most of the union members are teachers; however, some members of various kinds of occupations such as office staff are included. The most part of the members are regular employees, but non regular employees tend to increase year by year.
Congresses of the organization are the Annual Congress, the Central Congress and the Central Executive Committee. The Annual Congress is convened in February every year. The Central Congress is convened twice a year in June and October. The Central Executive Committee is held every week.
Location
Address ZENKOKU-KYOIKU-BUNKA-KAIKAN 12-1, NIBANCHO, CHIYODA-KU, TOKYO, JAPAN
TEL: +81-3-5211-0123 FAX: +81-3-5211-0124
President |  | | Shozo Kanisawa |
Vice President |  |  |  |  |  | Tamio Eijima
(President of National Federation of Private School Teachers and Staffs Unions) | Kenji Imatani | Masayuki Komeda | Hisashi Nakamura | Masako Fukiage |
General Secretary |  | | Masako Obata |
Deputy General Secretary |  |  | | Takaya Danbara | Isao Hijikata |
・Officer of International Affairs
Takaya Danbara ・Officer of Financial Affairs
Mitsuru Funaiwa ・Officer of Research, Wages, Rights and Appealing to Courts of Law
Masayuki Komeda ・Officer of Education and Culture
Hisashi Nakamura ・Officer of Total Organization, Advertisement and Information
Masako Fukiage ・Officer of Identify Themes for the Nation
Isao Hijikata ・Officer of Mutual Aid
Kenji Imatani |
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About Us
