Japanese Workers' Cooperative Union (JWCU)

The Japanese Workers' Cooperative Union (JWCU), founded in 1979, grew out of a post-war movement in which middle-aged and older unemployed workers created their own employment, headquartered in Tokyo. The union operates on the principle of 'collaborative labour', in which members simultaneously invest capital, manage and work, with businesses spanning community welfare, care, cleaning and greening, forestry and agriculture. According to its website, it has dozens of member organisations and more than ten thousand worker-members, making it Japan's national representative organisation for the workers' cooperative movement, and it played a role in driving the enactment of the Workers Cooperative Act.