Change of Employment Structure and New Labour Movements in Japan

The aim of this panel session is to share with the audience the outline of changing Japanese employment practice. Japanese employment system has been classified as one of the “organization-oriented,” and it implies that it ensures long-term employment within the same firm. Japanese industrial relations system, the main feature of which is the enterprise union, appears to have reinforced the employment security. Japanese practice of transition from school to work has been regarded as enabling even graduates to immediately begin their occupational lives as regular employees.

As with the employment systems of other countries, Japanese employment practice is confronted with the pressure from globalization, and it is becoming difficult for it to maintain as high a level and as wide a range of job security as it used to be. In this presentation, I will focus on shrinking union membership and its bargaining power in Japan.