Atypical Employment in Japan

The aim of this panel session is to outline the changing practice of the Japanese employment system. The Japanese system has been classified as “organization-oriented”, the key feature being the security of long-term employment within the same firm. The main feature of the Japanese industrial relations system is the enterprise union, which appears to have reinforced the employment security. The Japanese practice of offering new recruits work straight after completing their education enables students to immediately begin their work-life as ‘regular employees’.

The Japanese employment practice, however, is also faced with different employment practices of other countries due to globalization, and it is becoming more difficult to maintain the high level of job security for various types of work in Japan. The focus of this presentation is the recent increase of atypical employment in Japan.