Laid-off hotel workers clash with police

When it was announced that the Keihin Hotel in Shinagawa would be closed and all of its workers fired, those workers seized control of the building and attempted to continue running the business. On Sunday, court officials and policemen seized control of the hotel:

The officials, accompanied by riot police, entered the hotel around 9:25 a.m. and finished seizing the building in about 15 minutes.

During a struggle with police, a glass door was shattered and one of the protesters was taken to a hospital after he fell down and struck his head.

There were no arrests.

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13 comments - What do you think? Posted by James - January 27, 2009 at 8:19 am

Categories: General Japan Tags:

http://id.jabunta.com roded

this situation is just like a common thing nowadays, because of the economic crisis.

Jahana

This is just the beginning; entire governments will collapse due to the engineered global economic crisis. Just look at the example of Iceland with its enviably high per capita income level and superior standard of living. Japanese leadership must understand that they too are expendable once they are finished putting people out of work like these hotel protestors. There will be widespread social disruption and turmoil not seen since the hundreds of “ketsuzei” or political-economic rioting that occured during the late Meiji era. Only this time it will be worse since the planned collapse is global in nature.

jmadsen

I don’t mean to be an alarmist, but I am almost 42 years old and have lived through a few (smaller) recessions in my life. But I don’t recall any that reached this point so quickly.

I have seen “work-ins” in the US in the news – is this happening in Europe and elsewhere as well, that you know of? Are there special circumstances around this particular story?

http://www.zdwonline.de Haf

I don’t know what is meant by work-ins, otherwise I could tell you about Germany.
If you mean this kind of riot, so far I’ve heard about a few protest marches but nothing this crazy.

jmadsen

“those workers seized control of the building and attempted to continue running the business.”

This has happened in a (very) few cases, where the workers simply try to keep working without the owners/management’s blessing. It never lasts more than a day or so, but I think the attempt is to show that they are not strikers.
http://ourmaninabiko.blogspot.com/ Our Man in Abiko

Thanks for posting this. It disproves the image of Japanese as docile and apathetic.
Anonymous

It never lasts more than a day or so

Although the article isn’t clear, the work-in had been going on for about two weeks (since January 15 — the day when a court ruling came down siding in favor of the owners) or several months (since October 21 of last year — the day after the workers were fired).
one

WTF? 15 minutes?????

Did they even put up a fight or was it all for show?

oro_the_dog

The officials, accompanied by riot police, entered the hotel around 9:25 a.m. and finished seizing the building in about 15 minutes.

Yeah; some humor can definitely be found in there =). Can’t help but imagine that when the police came, the man at the desk simply just bowed his head and apologized. Sumimasen!
weirdo

It had been going on for longer, in the beginning they were pushing the police away and then they had a negotiation for 40 minutes. Then they finally resumed the raid and the police pushed its way in 15 minutes later.

JJ

If the business is not making money and not many guests, they probably have no choice but to close, should they keep it open just so those people have a job, but no money is coming in how will they be paid
Stan

Work-Ins can be successful. Argentina has a few cases of successful work-ins after owners abandoned their businesses. One I can think of is a tile factory. It might depend on the type of business, plus quick reorganization is key.

http://www.newstatesman.com/south-america/2007/08/argentina-workers-movement
Roger

Hang in there people. Looks like this is going to be a rough ride for us all where ever in the world you are.

Laid-off hotel workers clash with police

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