II. Promotion of Japan’s Re-entry into the ILO after the War - The Period of the ILO Correspondent Office in Japan (1947-1954)

ILO Director-General: Mr. Edward Phelan (1941-1948) / Mr. David A. Morse (1948-1970)

Soon after World War II, as resolutions regarding Japan were adopted in various fora of the ILO, including the meeting of the Textiles Committee in 1946 and the Asian Regional Conference in 1947, the move to seek Japan’s readmission to the ILO became more and more active. In order to facilitate Japan’s readmission to the organization, Mr. Toru OGISHIMA, an official working at the ILO Headquarters in Geneva, returned to Japan. In March 1948, the ILO Committee in Japan was established under his leadership to initiate activities for spreading the spirit of the ILO and promote Japan’s readmission to the organization.

In August 1949, Mr. OGISHIMA, who had officially been appointed as the ILO Correspondent in Japan (1949-1955) a month earlier, opened his office in a room provided by the Ministry of Labour in its building. While the ILO Correspondent Office issued various publications and was engaged actively in publicity work, it began to recruit Japanese specialists and accept overseas fellows as part of its technical cooperation activities. November 1949 saw the establishment of the ILO Association of Japan, a private organization with tripartite structure, which worked jointly with the ILO Correspondent Office. Mr. OGISHIMA was appointed as its Director-General.

Japanese delegation attending the International Labour Conference in 1951

The 34th Session of the International Labour Conference in 1951 approved Japan’s re-accession to the ILO.  In September 1953, the 3rd Asian Regional Conference took place in Tokyo---the first ILO conference organized in Japan. In 1954, Japan became a permanent member of the ILO Governing Body again, and it was decided at the International Labour Conference of the same year that the status of the Correspondent Office in Japan should be changed to the Branch Office.