"Sogo & Seibu labor union plans strike over possible sale", 28 August 2023

A Sogo & Seibu labor union notified management that its members working at one of the company's department stores will go on strike on Thursday as differences related to the planned sale of the shopping chains remain.

If the strike goes ahead, it would be the first in the country’s department store industry for around 60 years...

Parent firm Seven & I Holdings, the operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores, is looking to sell the Sogo & Seibu unit to U.S.-based investment fund Fortress Investment Group, and the labor union has been asking Seven & I to guarantee that jobs will be maintained and the department store business will continue even after the sale.

Yet the union has been dissatisfied with Seven & I's response, saying that it has failed to closely communicate with employees...

Seven & I appears to be rushing ahead with the deal, as there are media reports that the firm might make a final decision on the sale on Thursday, so the strike is intended to prevent that from happening.

If management shows a clear sign that it will not make such a decision, the labor union will call off the strike...