Ōta Kaoru

Ōta Kaoru

Ōta Kaoru ( Japanese 太 田 薫 ; born January 1, 1912 in Tsuyama ( Okayama Prefecture ); died September 14, 1998 ) was a Japanese leader of the labor movement and founder of the "Spring Strike".

Live and act

Ōta Kaoru graduated from the Technical Faculty of Osaka University in 1935 . He then worked for "Dainippon tokkyo hiryō" (大 日本 特許 肥料: today "Mitsubishi Rayon") for three years. Then he went to Ube Kōsan in Ube and was successful in the company. He then switched to the employee side and in 1946 became the first chairman of the trade union federation "Rōdōkumiai" (労 働 組合). In addition, he was active in the city assembly of Ube for three years. In 1950 he became chairman of the "Union Association of Synthetic Chemistry Workers" (合成 化学 産業 労 働 組合 連 合, Gōseikagaku sangyō rōdō-kumiai rengō), abbreviated to "Gōka rōren" (合 化 労 連).

1951 participated Ōta in the establishment of the "Social Democratic Society" (社会主義 協会, Shakaishugi kyōkai). Known for his quick, strong expressions, he was admiringly called "Ōta Rappa" (太 田 ラ ッ パ). The annual spring strikes (春 闘, Shuntō) go back to Ōta. In 1964 he was awarded the International Lenin Peace Prize.

1979 Ōta ran for the post of governor of Tōkyō prefecture , but lost to Suzuki Shun'ichi (鈴木 俊 一; 1910-2010). Then he withdrew from the daily political events.

literature

• S. Noma (Ed.): Ōta Kaoru . In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993, ISBN 4-06-205938-X , p. 1170.

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Ōta is the family name, Kaoru the first name.