Wada joined the Japanese Merchant Navy in 1939.
In 1950, he was a founding member of the General Council of Trade Unions of Japan, and worked for it as a permanent secretary.
In 1954, he helped found the All-Japan Trade Union Congress (Zenro) split, and was appointed as its general secretary.
[1][2] In 1964, Zenro became part of the Japanese Confederation of Labour, and he became its vice president.
[3] Wada was a member of the Democratic Socialist Party, and in 1969 he was elected to the House of Representatives, serving until 1972.