TOKYO -- The Japanese Trade Union Confederation, known as Rengo, has been hoping to regain political influence for some time. The country's largest national labor organization supports the largest opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party, and another opposition party, the Democratic Party for the People, but given their low support ratings, they are unlikely to take power anytime soon.

Former Rengo President Rikio Kozu, who led the organization for six years, tried to bring the opposition parties together, but without success. Tomoko Yoshino succeeded him on Wednesday, to the surprise of many, and became Rengo's first female leader since its founding in 1989. She will have to show her leadership in the runup to the general election slated for Oct. 31.

"Union activities are at a crossroads amid the coronavirus pandemic. I will listen to the members to help put the labor movement forward," Yoshino said at Rengo's regular convention in Tokyo on Oct. 6, when she officially became president.

Rengo was created as a confederation of public- and private-sector trade unions in 1989. Putting various unions together raised its profile, and four years later Rengo helped launch the first government that did not include the Liberal Democratic Party since its establishment in 1955.

There were two major national labor organizations in postwar Japan. One was the General Council of Trade Unions of Japan (Sohyo). The left-leaning council was founded in 1950 and supported the Socialist Party. The other was the right-leaning, anti-communist Japanese Confederation of Labor (Domei). It was formed in 1964 and backed the Democratic Socialist Party.

Although Sohyo had some private-sector unions from steelmaking and other industries, it was mostly made up of public-sector groups such as the All-Japan Prefectural and Municipal Workers Union (Jichiro) and the Japan Teachers' Union. It supported the Socialist Party, which was the largest opposition force at that time, in elections and played the central role in civic movements such as the campaign to oppose the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.

In contrast, most members of Domei were private-sector unions from automobile, electricity, textile and other industries, and adopted a policy of collaborating with the management. Together with the Democratic Socialist Party that was formed by less liberal defectors from the Socialist Party, it aimed for "confronting totalitarianism of the right and the left."

Rengo's first president, Akira Yamagishi, played the pivotal role in merging the two national unions. The former union member of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corp. later said labor movements had been in decline, so the merger must be done quickly to break the stalemate.

In 1989, Sohyo and a Domei-related national center joined to create Rengo. But unions supporting the Japanese Communist Party criticized its formation as "a right-leaning realignment of labor unions," and founded the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) the same year. This is why Rengo, which supports some of the opposition parties, is still at odds with the JCP.

With the organizational power of Japan's largest national center of trade unions, Yamagishi became a major player in the collaboration among opposition parties. He teamed up with influential lawmaker Ichiro Ozawa, who had left the LDP, in the 1993 general election to help launch the government of Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa, which didn't include the LDP or the JCP.

Since then, Rengo presidents including Etsuya Washio (Nippon Steel Corp.) and Kiyoshi Sasamori (Tokyo Electric Power Co.) have been chosen from the private sector. They exercised influence on politics. Before the Democratic Party took power in 2009, then-President Tsuyoshi Takagi toured Rengo's local organizations with Ozawa, who had become the party's leader in 2006.

But since the Democratic Party lost a general election in 2012, the LDP and its coalition partner Komeito have stayed in power. The Democratic Party has broken up, and opposition groups are unwilling to get together. This has been reflected in differing opinions within Rengo. Jichiro and the Japan Teachers' Union are staunch advocates of the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution. Meanwhile, private-sector UA Zensen is positive about discussing constitutional amendments. As for ending nuclear power generation, private-sector unions that have utilities as their members and public-sector unions show different degrees of commitment.

Yoshino, who was chosen in the hope of uniting the labor unions and regaining political influence, is from the union of sewing machine maker Juki. She served as deputy head of the Japanese Association of Metal, Machinery and Manufacturing Workers (JAM), which is mainly made up of small and midsize manufacturers. She has worked to create a women-friendly working environment by making it easier to take childcare and nursing care leave. Her appointment is meaningful, showing that Rengo is committed to gender equality. But she has little experience in the world of politics.

Yoshino told reporters on Oct. 7 that she will urge the Constitutional Democratic Party and the Democratic Party for the People, the two opposition parties Rengo backs, to "become one large entity." But she said she has never met CDP leader Yukio Edano so far, adding that "political parties and labor unions are totally different organizations, and Rengo cannot intervene political parties' affairs."

Wages in Japan haven't risen as much as they have in the U.S. and some other countries over the past 20 years. This is partly because of the tradition of prioritizing keeping jobs over wage hikes, which has led unions to make modest requests for wage increases. Meanwhile, new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida from LDP has announced a plan to implement economic policies that focuses on wealth distribution. He has also unveiled an "income doubling plan" for the current Reiwa Era.

"We need to persuade individual members to be more interested in politics and think it as their own business." Yoshino is concerned about the declining interest in politics among union members. With its first female leader, Rengo's raison d'etre is at stake as the new government is trying to show that it's paying more attention to workers.