Currently, its mission statement, “Ideals of the 21st Century,” is to create a more humane and sustainable society through the efforts of the cooperative members in the form of business operations and through their involvement with the community[1] Cooperative societies in Japan were initiated during the era of Taishō democracy.
During the Shōwa period, cooperative movements came to a halt due to the increase economic control of the government and the compulsory military drafts for war.
At the end of WWII in 1945, severe food shortages and inflation stimulated the growth and expansion of cooperatives once again.
These consumer cooperative societies consist of store operation, home delivery, catalog, and internet businesses.
These include social care, pursuing food safety, providing dietary education, child-rearing support, and peace actions.