Social movements to ban asbestos in Japan: influence of trade unions and the late development of grassroots mobilization

This article explores the social movements in Japan that aimed to ban asbestos and help those afflicted with asbestos-related diseases (ARDs) and their families. Trade unions representing dock and construction workers, whose members were occupationally exposed to asbestos, played significant roles in the early stages of the anti-asbestos movement, from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. These unions were crucial members of the first national anti-asbestos organization, the Ban Asbestos Network Japan (BANJAN), founded in 1987. Initially, BANJAN focused on policy and legislative efforts to ban asbestos. Later, in collaboration with regional occupational safety and health (OSH) centers, BANJAN strove to identify ARD victims across different areas using telephone hotlines and consultation services. They also facilitated meetings for the ARD victims and their families, which led to the formation of the ARD victims’ organization. Thus, grassroots activities organized by ARD victims and their families emerged later, with the first national ARD victims’ organization being established in 2004. This article shows that the grassroots social movement led by ARD victims and their families in Japan depended largely on the resources mobilized by trade unions and related organizations.