Japan is in Asia.
The Amalgamated Society of Textile Workers and Kindred Trades -LRB- ASTWKT -RRB- was a trade union representing textile workers , principally silk manufacturing , in the United Kingdom .. United Kingdom. United Kingdom. trade union. trade union. The union was founded in 1919 with the merger of six local unions , all based in north Staffordshire or southern Cheshire  : the Amalgamated Society of Silk Pickers , Amalgamated Society of Braid Workers and Kindred Trades , Amalgamated Society of Silk and Cotton Dyers , Amalgamated Society of Women Workers , Amalgamated Society of Silk Spinners , Throwsters and Reelers , and the Leek Spun Silk Dressers Union .. Staffordshire. Staffordshire. Cheshire. Cheshire. Several of the unions were led by William Bromfield , and he became the first secretary of the new union , serving until 1942 .. William Bromfield. William Bromfield. In 1951 , the union affiliated to the Amalgamated Weavers ' Association , but it left a few years later , in order to cut its expenses .. In 1965 , it merged with the National Silk Weavers and Textile Traders Association , meaning that for the first time it had members outside Cheshire and Staffordshire , although only in a limited number of locations  : Dunfermline , Farnworth , Great Yarmouth and Pontypridd .. Staffordshire. Staffordshire. Cheshire. Cheshire. Dunfermline. Dunfermline. Farnworth. Farnworth. Great Yarmouth. Great Yarmouth. Pontypridd. Pontypridd. In 1992 , the union renamed itself as the Union of Textile Workers , and in 2000 , it merged into the Manufacturing , Science and Finance union .