The now-defunct Japanese National Railways discriminated against employees in a union opposed to the 1987 JNR privatization by not ensuring they were rehired by the spinoff carriers, the Tokyo District Court said in a landmark ruling Thursday.
Presiding Judge Koichi Nanba ordered the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency, which took over some JNR operations, to pay 5 million yen in damages to each of the 283 plaintiffs, who are members of the National Railway Workers Union (Kokuro), which was backed by the former Japan Socialist Party.
"The plaintiffs were not listed as candidates for recruitment at the newly established Hokkaido Railway Co. and Kyushu Railway Co. because JNR arbitrarily evaluated their work performances low because of their union activities," Nanba said.