ABSTRACT
The Japanese labour market is frequently characterized as having a dual structure. This duality of structure has interested Japanese scholars, especially labour economists for several decades. Their interest antedates the appearance of dual-structure theory and internal labour market theory in Western literature. Industrialization of the Japanese economy had to start with strategicallyplanned importation of new production technology from western countries, resulting in the long co-existence of traditional and modern sectors in the Japanese economy, and the consequent interest of Japanese social thinkers in this duality.
