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New and Enduring Dual Structures of Employment in Japan: The Rise of Non-Regular Labor, 1980s–2010s

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  • Andrew GORDON

Abstract

A steady rise in what is called ‘non-regular employment’ is the most notable change in Japanese working life since at least the 1980s. Such workers accounted for nearly 40% of all employees by 2015. This paper focuses on the results of the turn to non-regular employment and identifies its distinctive aspects in the context of a long history of various forms of precarious employment. A historical perspective shows that newer forms of second-tier status, including some that can be termed ‘non-regular regular’ employment, have come to overlay continuing older ones. Important new elements include not only a far greater absolute and relative number of non-regular workers but also their far greater presence in the service sector. In addition, today’s non-regular workers differ in social characteristics such as age, education, and gender. The relative decline of social movements is a notable impediment in seeking reform, while the move away from seeing gender as a natural axis of differentiation offers some potential for addressing the issue.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew GORDON, 2017. "New and Enduring Dual Structures of Employment in Japan: The Rise of Non-Regular Labor, 1980s–2010s," Social Science Japan Journal, University of Tokyo and Oxford University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 9-36.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:sscijp:v:20:y:2017:i:1:p:9-36.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/ssjj/jyw042
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    Cited by:

    1. Hideaki Aoyama & Corrado Di Guilmi & Yoshi Fujiwara & Hiroshi Yoshikawa, 2021. "Dual labor market and the "Phillips curve puzzle"," CAMA Working Papers 2021-49, Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    2. IKEUCHI Kenta & FUKAO Kyoji & Cristiano PERUGINI, 2021. "Establishment Size, Workforce Composition and the College Wage Gap in Japan," Discussion papers 21022, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    3. Kostiantyn Ovsiannikov, 2018. "Impact of Shareholder-Value Pursuit on Labor Policies at Japanese Joint-Stock Companies: Case of Nikkei Index 400," Working Papers hal-01839679, HAL.
    4. Putra, Rendra A.A. & Ovsiannikov, Kostiantyn & Kotani, Koji, 2023. "COVID-19-associated income loss and job loss: Evidence from Indonesia," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    5. Hideaki Aoyama & Corrado Guilmi & Yoshi Fujiwara & Hiroshi Yoshikawa, 2022. "Dual labor market and the “Phillips curve puzzle”: the Japanese experience," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 32(5), pages 1419-1435, November.
    6. Martin Piotrowski & Erik Bond & Ann Beutel, 2020. "Marriage counterfactuals in Japan: Variation by gender, marital status, and time," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 43(37), pages 1081-1118.
    7. Guilmi, Corrado Di & Fujiwara, Yoshi, 2022. "Dual labor market, financial fragility, and deflation in an agent-based model of the Japanese macroeconomy," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 346-371.
    8. Kyoji Fukao & Cristiano Perugini & Fabrizio Pompei, 2023. "Non‐standard Employment and Rent‐sharing," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 90(357), pages 178-211, January.
    9. Blind, Georg & Lottanti von Mandach, Stefania, 2017. "Secular trends in the Japanese labour market during the lost decades: A reply to Andrew Gordon," MPRA Paper 80812, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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