Social Inequality In Post Growth Japan

In recent decades Japan has changed from a strongly growing, economically successful nation regarded as prime example of social equality and inclusion, to a nation with a stagnating economy, a shrinking population and a very high proportion of elderly people. Within this, new forms of inequality are emerging and deepening, and a new model of Japan as 'gap society' (kakusa shakai) has become common-sense. These new forms of inequality are complex, are caused in different ways by a variety of factors, and require deep-seated reforms in order to remedy them. This book provides a comprehensive overview of inequality in contemporary Japan. It examines inequality in labour and employment, in welfare and family, in education and social mobility, in the urban-rural divide, and concerning immigration, ethnic minorities and gender. The book also considers the widespread anxiety effect of the fear of inequality; and discusses how far these developments in Japan represent a new form of social problem for the wider world.

In recent decades Japan has changed from a strongly growing, economically successful nation regarded as prime example of social equality and inclusion, to a nation with a stagnating economy, a shrinking population and a very high proportion of elderly people. Within this, new forms of inequality are emerging and deepening, and a new model of Japan as 'gap society' (kakusa shakai) has become common-sense. These new forms of inequality are complex, are caused in different ways by a variety of factors, and require deep-seated reforms in order to remedy them. This book provides a comprehensive overview of inequality in contemporary Japan. It examines inequality in labour and employment, in welfare and family, in education and social mobility, in the urban-rural divide, and concerning immigration, ethnic minorities and gender. The book also considers the widespread anxiety effect of the fear of inequality; and discusses how far these developments in Japan represent a new form of social problem for the wider world.

First published in Japanese in 2006 by University of Tokyo Press as Henkasuru shakai no fubyaodao.

In a globalising world, many mature economies share post-growth characteristics such as low economic growth, low fertility, declining and ageing of the population and increasing social stratification. Japan stands at the forefront of such social change in the East Asian region as well as in the Global North. It is in this context of ‘post-growth society’ that housing issues are examined, using the experiences of Japan at the leading edge of social transition in the region. The post-war housing system was developed during the golden age of economy and welfare, when upward social trajectories such as increasing population, high-speed economic growth with rising real incomes, housing construction driven by high demands, increasing rates of home ownership supported by generous government subsidies generated new housing opportunities and accompanying issues. As we have entered the post-growth phase of socio-economic development, however, it requires a re-examination of such structure, policy and debates. This volume explores what roles housing plays in the reorganisation and reconstruction of economic processes, social policy development, ideology and identity, and intergenerational relations. The volume offers a greater understanding of the characteristics of post-growth society – changing demography, economy and society – in relation to housing. It considers how a definitive shift to the post-growth period has produced new housing issues including risks as well as opportunities. Through analysis of the impact on five different areas: post-crisis economy, urban and regional variations, young adults and housing pathways, fertility and housing, and ageing and housing wealth, the authors use policy and institutions as overarching analytical tools to examine the contemporary housing issues in a post-growth context. It also considers any relevance from the Japanese experiences in the wider regional and global context. This original book will be of great interest to academics and students as well as policy makers and practitioners internationally in the fields of housing studies, urban studies, social policy, sociology, political economy, comparative analysis, and East Asian Studies.

In striking contrast to the large indigent population in Japan in the 1950s, very few Japanese live in poverty today. This book explains the Japanese government's decision to respond to poverty by promoting equality as the basis for a social compromise. Milly argues that to account for why and how political actors crafted a program that won acceptance, we must look beyond them and identify how they relied on knowledge and normative arguments. This book straddles theoretical fault lines in comparative politics by exploring the interactions among choice, language, knowledge, and institutions in policy processes, and has implications for the ongoing debate between proponents of rational choice theory as a universal explanation for the decisions of political actors and those who focus on historically or culturally specific conditions.

The two leading sociologists of social stratification in Japan argue that most Japanese have attained a level of income in which they no longer suffer from poverty and starvation, a situation in which Japan has achieved an equalization of basic wealth.

After the collapse of Japan's bubble-economy in the late 1980s, a wide range of neo-liberal reforms were introduced which dramatically affected the nature of the labor market. These reforms expanded and consolidated a two-tier market, widening the gap between those who benefit from the 'company citizenship' of 'regular' (long-term, secure) employment conditions and those who are increasingly disadvantaged by reduced income and security in the peripheral Ã?Â?Ã?Â?non-regular system of casual and short-term employment. The contributions in this volume use the 2005 Social Stratification and Mobility (SSM) survey data to analyze the effects of Japanese labor market reforms on social mobility, social welfare, company 'citizenship, ' incomes, as well as the policy implications for homelessness. (Series: Social Stratification and Inequality) *** "The volume makes a timely contribution in the context of extensive public debate in the media and recent academic works about the widening gap between rich and poor, and about the consequences of that gap for individuals and the society as a whole. The book is a valuable addition to the field and complements recent publications on social inequality . . . [and] is significant in two major ways. The first is that, going beyond quantitative changes in social inequality, it illuminates, and convincingly argues for, qualitative changes in social inequality. This is insightful. It advances our understanding of patterns of inequality, since we have long seen debates on increasing inequality in income and life chances and in terms of the 'working poor' and 'new poverty.' The second significance is the authors' insistence that institutions rather than individual attributes guide social inequality . . . Institutions set boundaries to, and guide, family and individual decision and actions, which have resulted in the qualitative changes in social inequality in the last three decades." - Journal of Japanese Studies, Vol. 40, No. 1, 2014Ã?Â?Ã?Â?

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 2,3, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, course: Kultur- und Sozialwissenschaften, language: English, abstract: Social stratification implies that in every society goods and services are not equally distributed. Some people are wealthy enough to buy a house, others have to pay rent to live in a small apartment. More generally spoken, why are some people rich and others poor? A society without social stratification implies that there are no inferior or superior positions and all human beings are equal and have the same prerequisites when they are born. The opposite is the case. People are born into families of unequal positions, some are born into rich influential families, others have to live under the poverty level. Wouldn’t it be fair for all human beings to have the same starting position when they are born? In every country the reality looks different and that is a reason why social stratification is such an interesting topic. To what extent have inequality and difference an impact on people’s life? Japan and the USA are both highly modernized and industrialized countries. According to World Bank, the USA has the biggest Gross National Product (GNP) in the world followed by Japan. This fact underlines the importance of both nations for the world economy. These figures get more interesting when they are put into relation with the population of each country. The figure “GNP per person” is a measurement for the wealth of a country. In this ranking the USA is in fourth place followed by Japan (Albrecht et al., 2003). These figures might give the impression that both countries are quite similar but there is one major difference. Japan is the only non-Western country that is industrialized. The cultural background is different and that is a reason why a comparison between these countries can be interesting and might lead to surprising results. In this paper I will try to find out what inequality is based on and why these differences occur of varying strength in both countries. In these countries social stratification depends on cultural aspects as well as economical aspects. The cultural background influences the way the society deals with economy. After giving an introduction about basic definitions and concepts of social stratification I will describe and analyse differences in income and education in both societies. To make a comparison useful and clear I will include data from the “Fischer Weltalmanach” and the “Human Development Report 2002” to this term paper.