![]() ![]() Despite the claim of the emergence of kakusa shakai, an overwhelming majority of Japanese continue to regard themselves as belonging to the ‘middle class,’ a pattern that has persisted for decades. Table 1: International comparison of ‘middle class consciousness’ (%) 6 In poverty studies, one in seven workers is estimated to live under the poverty line in Japan, 7 a condition that hardly makes the country a ‘homogeneous middle-class society.’ 5 In the field of education, about three quarters of the students of the University of Tokyo, the most prestigious university in Japan, are the sons and daughters of company managers, bureaucrats, academics, teachers and professionals. 4 In family sociology, empirical studies show that intra-class marriages within identical occupational and educational categories remain predominant, and ‘ascriptive homogamy’ is most robust among university graduates, with inter-generational class continuity enduring most firmly in most educated strata of Japanese society. 3 In labor economics, many researchers focus their attention on how Japan’s level of social inequality – measured by the Gini index – compares with those of other developed societies. In sociology, debate continues to rage over the extent to which social mobility to the privileged upper middle white-collar sector Japan has declined. ![]() Reflecting these developments, scholarly class analysis has attained center stage in public discussion. Moreover, in regional economic comparisons, affluent metropolitan lifestyles often appear in sharp contrast with the deteriorated and declining conditions of rural areas. Even ‘regular’ employees who were guaranteed job security throughout their occupational careers have been thrown out of employment because of their companies’ poor business outcomes and the unsatisfactory performance of their own work. One out of three employees are now ‘non-regular workers’ whose employment status is precarious. In mass media, on one end of the spectrum, the new rich who have almost instantly amassed vast wealth in such areas as information technology, new media and financial manipulation are celebrated and lionized as fresh billionaires.Īt the other end of the spectrum are the unemployed, the homeless, day laborers and other marginalized members of society who are said to form karyū shakai (the underclass), revealing a discrepancy which gives considerable plausibility to the imagery of class-divided society.Īt the heart of the controversy is job stability which used to be the hallmark of Japan’s labor market. The new image of Japan as a class-divided and unequal society has resulted not so much from intellectual criticisms levelled at the once dominant model as from public perceptions of changing patterns of the labor market. The view appears to have gained ground during Japan’s prolonged recession in the 1990s, the so-called lost decade, and in the 2000s when the country experienced a further downturn as a consequence of the global financial crisis. ![]() 2 The emerging discourse argues that Japan is a kakusa shakai, literally a ‘disparity society’, a socially divided society with sharp class differences and glaring inequality. The view that Japan is a monocultural society with little internal cultural divergence and stratification, which was once taken for granted, is now losing monopoly over the way Japanese society is portrayed. At the beginning of the 21st century, the nation has observed a drastic shift in its characterization from a uniquely homogeneous and uniform society to one of domestic diversity, class differentiation and other multidimensional forms. Paradigm Shift: From Homogenous to Class-divided SocietyĪ dramatic paradigm shift appears to be underway in contemporary Japanese society, with public discourse suddenly focusing upon internal divisions and variations in the population. Class and Work in Cultural Capitalism: Japanese Trends 1 ![]()
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