ABSTRACT
First World War brought fundamental changes in the structure of Japan’s economy and society. To Henry James the coming of First World War was ‘a nightmare from which there is no waking save by sleep’. In the Founding Principles the organization’s task was stated as being ‘to bring about harmony and cooperation between managers and workers by encouraging and aiding in the execution of appropriate social policy activities’. The announcement of the creation of the Kyochokai was regarded with suspicion by workers’ groups and a wide variety of intellectuals. Prior to First World War many Japanese leaders had recognized that modern development was beginning to have a recognizable effect on social and economic organization. The gradual erosion of natural, historical communality and social cooperation was to them a predictable by-product of development. With the end of First World War the assumptions were invested with new weight by the establishment of the Relief Committee and the creation of the Kyochokai.
