Japanese Workplaces in Transition

The above citation is from the blog of a Japanese employee. Although just a short paragraph written in June 2001, it still provides information on the activities of a company, responses by its employees, speculations pertaining to the state of the company, and finally the problems of a single employee in coping with this situation. Thus the diary entry raises several questions: How typical of Japanese companies were and are the activities described? How do they relate to the overall situation of the Japanese economy? Are the feelings and speculations of this employee shared by others, and if so, how will this affect the future relationship between the company and employees in Japan?

Japanese companies came under intense pressure to change employment practices from the 1990s onwards. These pressures and the companies’ responses will be outlined by looking at three industries. The electronics industry represents Japan’s manufacturing sector. Japan’s electronics companies grew rapidly in the post-war period and managed to assume a leadership role despite intense worldwide competition before their position was threatened in the 1990s. The electronics industry uses employees in a wide variety of occupations, including the actual manufacturing process, research and development, and administration. However, it is the care that companies took in the employment of blue collar workers that has been particularly linked to Japan’s strength in production efficiency and product quality. Banking represents white collar employment. Employees of financial institutions were seen as elite, with privileges in terms of remuneration levels and security of advancement. However, developments such as financial deregulation and the after effects of the bubble economy have driven Japan’s financial sector into an ongoing period of reorganization. Finally, retailing represents consumer-oriented services with high customer expectations in terms of service quality and increasingly in terms of constant availability over space and time.

The above diary entry was written under the somewhat paradoxical headline “bright and clear weather” (the writer reports daily on the weather). The writer understands the situation of his company very well, and while he does not fear for his own job, he still expresses concern that his work situation might change radically after being sent to another company.

The writers of the above three blog excerpts take up different aspects of work under the principles of lifelong employment, seniority payment and advancement. The first writer expresses his joy at the fact that his company still applies seniority principles in remunerating its workforce; the second writer, while somewhat vainly praising the advantages of youth, shows how seniority has an effect on everyday work in Japanese corporations, and finally the third writer remembers the expectations he had when taking up his first job.

Looking at restructuring and changing employment principles, the previous chapters focused mostly on the situation of male employees who were regularly employed at larger Japanese corporations. Indeed, the treatment of such employees has largely shaped the popular understanding of Japanese employment practices. While the number of Japanese employees who enjoyed he privileges and benefits of this kind of employment to the fullest was in fact limited, the underlying principles still constituted strong societal ideals in terms of personal ambitions and life courses. Yet, Japanese companies are changing the composition of their workforces. In 2004 the number of non-regular employees reached 16 million employees, or roughly one third of Japan’s working population (Table 2.4). This development not only threatened the position of regular employees but also created new employment realities for a large share of the Japanese workforce.

Companies are increasingly relying on non-regular employees in their operations, and as the above blog entry outlines, are even assigning some of them leadership roles. Thus, when discussing non-regular work it is necessary to take a closer look at the actual work situation of non-regular employees. With non-regular employment becoming a long-term situation for many employees, it is also important to ask whether it can still become a starting point for building a career. This chapter takes up these two issues and then goes on to discuss the situation of Japan’s growing non-regular workforce within overall changes in labor markets in Japan and other countries.

Fooling, being fooled, mutual deception? Can this be the final, simple conclusion of this book about the future relationship between employees and companies in Japan? Surely not! Too many writers have shown in their diaries genuine concern about the situation of their companies, and many companies have realized that they need to put in a genuine effort to reconcile measures to increase competitiveness with measures to keep their employees loyal and motivated.