In Memory: 
Eisuke Masuda

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Eisuke Masuda

Eisuke Masuda, who directed the ITF's Tokyo Office from 1972 to 1987, died on 2 December 2009 at the age of 84. He will be remembered with great respect and affection by everyone who had the good fortune to know and work with him. Born and raised in a working-class family, he was conscripted into the Japanese army and was taken prisoner towards the end of the Second World War. His American guards encouraged and helped him to follow up his early interest in learning English and he was always keen to acknowledge his great debt to them. Back in civilian life as a railwayman and active trade unionist, he continued his English studies, teaching himself with tenacious commitment and achieving a real command of the language and its usage.

His union, the Japanese National Railway Workers' Union (Kokoro) recommended him to the ITF, initially as a translator and interpreter. His appointment to head the ITF Tokyo Office owed as much, however, to his good judgment and grasp of the always complex Japanese trade union scene as to his language skills, vital as they were. His strong socialist and internationalist convictions underlay his unwavering belief in the ITF cause.

As for the man himself, everyone who spent time with him in his off-duty moments found it a pleasure. Modest and free of all pretensions, kind and considerate, he also had a warm sense of humour that overcame any cultural hurdles and inhibitions. All of us who could claim him as a friend will join in sending their deepest sympathy to his daughter, Midori, and his family.

By Harold Lewis, General Secretary of the ITF from 1977 to 1993


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