Impediments to the Advancement of Women in the Japanese Employment System: Theoretical Overview and the Purpose of This Book

As the opening to the book, this chapter reviews the current situation, marked by the very slow advancement of women’s participation in Japanese economic activities despite various types of legal support. The main factor attributed to this delay in promoting women’s participation is Japanese employment practicesJapanese employment practices . To better understand the historical origins of these practices and of the significant delay in women’s participation, the author clarifies economic and cultural foundations of the so-called Japanese employment systemJapanese employment system . He addresses its problems referred to in this chapter as “rationality under specific premisesRationality under specific premises ,” the problem of “structural inertia” associated with the employment system constructed under the principle of “strategic rationalityStrategic rationality ,” and the problem of the “traditional division of household laborTraditional division of household labor between husband and wife” as imposed by society as a complement of the employment system. Based on those discussions, the aims of this book are explained. In addition, given the book’s focus on empirical analysis, this chapter also provides an explanation of the aims of, and the methodological background for, the analytical strategies employed in the book.