ABSTRACT
In recent decades Japan has changed from a strongly growing, economically successful nation regarded as prime example of social equality and inclusion, to a nation with a stagnating economy, a shrinking population and a very high proportion of elderly people. Within this, new forms of inequality are emerging and deepening, and a new model of Japan as 'gap society' (kakusa shakai) has become common-sense. These new forms of inequality are complex, are caused in different ways by a variety of factors, and require deep-seated reforms in order to remedy them. This book provides a comprehensive overview of inequality in contemporary Japan. It examines inequality in labour and employment, in welfare and family, in education and social mobility, in the urban-rural divide, and concerning immigration, ethnic minorities and gender. The book also considers the widespread anxiety effect of the fear of inequality; and discusses how far these developments in Japan represent a new form of social problem for the wider world.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|26 pages
Introduction
part II|28 pages
Creation of inequality and its perception in Japan
chapter 2|8 pages
Institutions and actors in the creation of social inequality
part III|50 pages
Labour market and employment system
chapter 4|16 pages
The “re-segmentation” of the Japanese labour market
part IV|42 pages
Welfare state and family
chapter 7|14 pages
Economic inequality among families with small children in Japan
chapter 8|13 pages
Social policy responses to the ‘gap society'
part V|38 pages
Education and social mobility
chapter 10|17 pages
Understanding structural changes in inequality in Japanese education
chapter 12|9 pages
Trying to reduce inequalities in school
part VI|46 pages
Urban-rural divide
chapter 15|18 pages
Understanding the dynamics of regional growth and shrinkage in 21st Century Japan
part VII|54 pages
New immigration and ethnic minorities
chapter 16|17 pages
Migration and integration patterns of new immigrants in Japan
chapter 18|19 pages
Understanding the gaps between immigrant economic outcomes
part VIII|16 pages
Conclusion