The DDPI project has been holding a series of seminars on policy solutions to inequality and disparity, and the potential of digital technology (digital democracy) for such solutions.

This time, we will return to the online venue and invite Professor Jun Imai of the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Integrated Human Sciences, Sophia University, to discuss “Employment reforms and social inequality in Japan: the institutional inertia of industrial citizenship”. He will talk about employment relations in Japan, a major topic that cannot be avoided when considering issues of disparity and inequality in today’s society.

In the past, the myth of “company-centered society” was a common narrative in Japan. Starting with the lump-sum hiring of high school and university graduates, there was a time when the enormous contribution of ” kaishainingen,” people who serve their companies through high loyalty to them, and the long-term employment practices, closed corporate human resource management, and skill development based on membership were praised as characteristics of such a society. However, this dual structure was only focused on large corporations and civil servants, and labor unions focused on forming bargaining relationships within the industrial sector, so the small, medium, and micro enterprises and their workers, as well as self-employed and sole proprietors, who actually make up the majority of Japanese society, were often ignored and criticized.

The deregulation of the labor field that began in earnest in the 1990s, combined with the restructuring of large companies that began with the collapse of the bubble economy and the difficulty of finding new graduates, has led to the emergence of temporary and dispatch workers who are positioned outside the closed employment relationship as an adjustment valve. This, combined with low wages compared to regular employees, has created a major division in the world of workers.

It is important to note that the employment practices of large corporations and public servants have not brought about new universality or equality in today’s employment relationships, where such past dual structures and the recent problem of “irregularity” exist on top of each other. The momentum of employment practices still remains as a strong corporate citizenship, and the employment practices of these large corporations and public officials upstream in economic relations still strongly constrain social practices and formal institutions such as marriage and family, child rearing and education, social security and welfare, and housing.

In this seminar, Professor Imai, who specializes in sociology of labor and social stratification, will share his knowledge on the state of Japanese society from the perspective of employment relations and employment practices, and discuss a wide range of ideas for tackling the issues of inequality and disparity.

We look forward to your participation.