Resources on cooperatives

  1. Rokin Banks’ responses to the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan

    30 September 2020

    Like any other country, the population and economy of Japan are badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The preliminary figures for real GDP in the second quarter of 2020 show a decline of 7.8%. Rokin Banks (a network of 13 union-led cooperative financial institutions) are well positioned to provide support and protect the livelihoods of workers and their families, given their 70-year-experience in building an inclusive society and advancing financial inclusion of workers. Read about the special measures that Rokin Banks have recently introduced in this short brief.

  2. Social Finance Working Paper #76: Rokin Banks - 70 years of efforts to build an inclusive society in Japan through enhancing workers’ access to finance

    01 May 2019

    This working paper documents the experience of Japanese union-led cooperative financial institutions and trade unions in enhancing workers’ access to finance. The working paper highlights 70 years of experience of Rokin Banks in providing access to finance for workers, and in particular low income workers. The paper reviews the factors that contributed to the success and longevity of the model as well as the strategies that Rokin Banks chose to address the challenges of a changing labour movement, a changing world of work, and a highly competitive financial sector. This working paper was produced in close collaboration with the National Association of Labour Banks in Japan and the ILO Office for Japan.