ABSTRACT
Introduction Once the subject of great admiration – and fear – Japanese employment relations have come under intense pressure for change over the past fi fteen years. 1 Pressure stems from changes in the competitive environment, legal and regulatory change, the prolonged domestic recession and economic turbulence, and the ageing workforces, among other factors. Empirical studies have shown a partial shift away from Japan’s ‘classic model’, with greater prominence given to market forces, and increased diversity in employment practices. Institutionalist perspectives have mainly been deployed to explain the nuances of change and continuity, often within a ‘varieties of capitalism’ framework. Political or political economy perspectives (see Chapter 2 in this volume) have received less attention. This chapter stresses the need to understand actors, and agency , and specifi cally how changing competitive conditions and challenges have been perceived, debated and responded to, in terms of employment and employment relations. Signifi cantly, this applies to continuity as much as change. The chapter begins with the evolution of employment relations in Japan, and the main actors under the ‘classic model’ or ‘Japanese-style’ employment. This creates threads for the subsequent discussion of pressures for change and responses by the key actors. Theoretical interpretations of the resulting mixture of change and continuity are then discussed.
