JCCU celebrated its 70th anniversary on March 20, 2021. In commemoration of this, JCCU applied for and registered July 30 as "Consumers' Co-operative Day" with the Japan Anniversary Association, in reference to July 30, 1948, the date of promulgation of Consumers' Livelihood Co-operative Society Law ( called, "Consumer Cooperatives Act").

 

Below, we introduce the history of the birth of the Japanese Consumers' Livelihood Co-operative Society Law.

The Birth of the Consumers' Livelihood Co-operative Society Law dates back to just after the end of World WarⅡin 1945. The leaders of the pre-war consumer cooperative movement were among the first to work on rebuilding the consumer co-ops in the midst of post-war confusion/ turmoil. In November of the same year, the predecessor of JCCU was founded. In 1945, the turmoil after the war combined with poor harvests led to food shortages, and many black markets appeared in the urban areas of Japan. Amid this situation, from 1946 to 1947, in order to procure food, 6,503 new co-ops were established across the country with a membership of 2.97 million. The GHQ recommended the creation of labor unions and co-operatives, and the laws of various co-operative sectors were enacted one after another. On July 30, 1948, the Consumers' Livelihood Co-operative Society Law was established.