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Physical strength is the livelihood of transportation workers – whether baggage handlers, parcel or bicycle delivery drivers. Japanese rickshaw drivers also needed strong legs, resilient feet and nerves of steel. As one-man operations, however, rickshaw drivers soon faced increasing competition from more mechanized technologies such as the streetcar. By 1900, the rickshaw was seen as an outdated mode of transportation that stood in the way of the young nation's continued progress. Rickshaw drivers in Osaka and Tokyo began to fight back against the competition. They tried to secure their livelihood and assert their interests with strikes.