"1946, the system of Labour Relations Commissions (LRCs) was introduced in Japan. LRC members are divided equally among those representing the public interest, workers and employers, respectively, with a Secretariat to assist in administration. Each of Japan's 47 prefectures has its own LRC, with a Central Labour Relations Commission in Tokyo, making a total of 48 LRCs. These exercise their various powers as independent administrative agencies. The main duties of LRCs are threefold. They consist of (i) issuing administrativeorders to provide relief for labor unions and workers from unfair labor practices committed by employers so as to protect the right to organize, (ii) handling or “adjusting” collective labor disputes arising between labor unions and employers or employers' groups by means of conciliation, mediation and arbitration procedures, and (iii) conciliating individual labor disputes arising between individual workers and employers, regardless of whether a laborunion is involved or not. The functions of (i) and (ii) are handled by all LRCs, while (iii) is provided by LRCs in 44 prefectures.The LRC system has made a huge contribution to the formation of industrial relations and labor practices in Japan since World War II. Today, however, both the industrial structure and the labor market have changed, the organization rate of labor unions is in gradual decline, and collective industrial disputes have also decreased in number. In view of this, continuous efforts are being made to improve the LRC system and review its deployment, in order to identify how the system should be maintained and developed in future. "

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