Consumer coops in Japan were established by intellectuals in the Meiji era (1868-1912) and developed under the liberal movement. However, these Consumer coops were devastated during the Pacific War, and were re-established and newly organized in the post-war reconstruction period. In 1948, the Consumers’ Livelihood Cooperative Society Law was enacted and enforced, and the Japanese Consumers’ Co-operative Union (JCCU) was established in 1951.
JCCU launched its first CO-OP Brand Product, “CO-OP Butter,” to break through manufacturer-controlled pricing, in 1960. This is the first private brand product in Japan. In 1970, the “Fukushima Conclusion” was adopted at the JCCU’s 20th General Assembly, which emphasized the importance of developing member-centred activities, learning from the failure of the rapid growth strategy by rushing to open new stores rather than establishing member organizations. This led to many consumer co-ops developing member-centred activities in the joint purchasing system and supporting the upsurge of the co-op movement. In the 1980s, JCCU stepped up efforts to develop CO-OP products and established its product policy which formally focused on quality control and links CO-OP products with member activities. In the 2000s, in the face of severe incidents of CO-OP products, JCCU formulated the "Plan to Rebuild the Quality Assurance System for Co-op Brand Products". Currently, JCCU supplies about 4,000 CO-OP products and the sales including other businesses achieved, amount to 440 billion JPY (4.3billion USD) in the 2020 fiscal year.
In addition to these product businesses, JCCU has also been involved in peace movements such as Peace Action in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and fundraising campaigns for UNICEF as activities of coop members. In 1988, JCCU was awarded the title of "Peace Messenger" by the United Nations for its contribution to peacebuilding and international friendship.
In 2017, JCCU launched a new initiative to promote ethical consumption, and the "Co-op Action Plan for SDGs" was adopted at the 68th JCCU General Assembly to take a new step toward 2030. JCCU will promote the renovation of the home delivery business and digital transformation utilizing ICT to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and further improving the efficiency of the businesses.
JCCU has had a continuous working relationship with the ICA Asia-Pacific since the opening of the ICA's Regional Office and Education Center in 1960. JCCU has collaborated with ICA Asia-Pacific in the work of the Asia Pacific Sub-Committee and the Committee on Consumer Cooperation since their beginning, and later the Youth and Women's Committee. In addition, JCCU has been supporting ICA Regional Office with staffing over the past quarter-century and working together with the ICA members and RO staff.
In commemoration of the 70th anniversary, JCCU has created a commemorative logo mark expressing our feelings on the 70th anniversary under the themes of "Appreciation", "Inheritance" and "Development", and registered 30th July as the "Consumers Co-operative Day", the commemorative day of consumer cooperatives in Japan. JCCU is also preparing to publish the book on the history of Japanese consumer cooperatives, open the special page on the JCCU website and hold a commemorative lecture. A short video on this can be watched here.
