The Changing Japanese Labor Market

The Changing Japanese Labor Market
Author: Akiomi Kitagawa
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 196
Release: 2018-03-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9811071586

This book reappraises the Japanese employment system, characterized by such practices as the periodic recruiting of new graduates, lifetime employment and seniority-based wages, which were praised as sources of high productivity and flexibility for Japanese firms during the period of high economic growth from the middle of the 1950s until the burst of bubbles in the early 1990s. The prolonged stagnation after the bubble burst induced an increasing number of people to criticize the Japanese employment system as a barrier to the structural changes needed to allow the economy to adjust to the new environment, with detractors suggesting that such a system only serves to protect the vested interests of incumbent workers and firms. By investigating what caused the long stagnation of the Japanese economy, this book examines the validity of this currently dominant view about the Japanese employment system. The rigorous theoretical and empirical analyses presented in this book provide readers with deep insights into the nature of the current Japanese labor market and its macroeconomic impacts.

To Fire or to Hoard? Explaining Japan’s Labor Market Response in the Great Recession

To Fire or to Hoard? Explaining Japan’s Labor Market Response in the Great Recession
Author: Mr.Masato Nakane
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 31
Release: 2011-01-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1455212512

The Great Recession pushed Japan’s unemployment rate to historic highs, but the increase has been small by international standards and small relative to the large output shock. This paper explores Japan’s cyclical labor market response to the global financial crisis. Our findings suggest that: (i) employment responsiveness has been historically low but rising over time with the increasing importance of the non-regular workforce; (ii) the labor market response was consistent with historical patterns once we control for the size of the output shock; and (iii) the comparatively lower employment response vis-à-vis other countries can in part be explained by the quick implementation of an employment subsidy program, a more flexible wage system, and a corporate governance structure that places workers rights above shareholders.

Unemployment in Japan. Causes, Effects and Ways to Overcome

Unemployment in Japan. Causes, Effects and Ways to Overcome
Author: Bandar Hezam
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Total Pages: 30
Release: 2023-02-24
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3346817350

Seminar paper from the year 2022 in the subject Economics - Job market economics, , language: English, abstract: The unemployment rate is commonly used for understanding conditions in the labor market. The labor market is the term used by economists about the supply of labor and demand for labor. The unemployment rate also provides on how the economy is performing more generally. Unemployment occurs when someone is willing to work but does not have a job. The unemployment rate is the percentage of people in the labor force who are unemployed. To measure the unemployment rate, it requires to identify the labor force. The labor force includes people who are either employed or unemployed. The number of unemployed in April 2020 was up by 60,000 and the unemployment rate rose to 2.6% percent. It happens that during the pandemic the unemployment rate in Japan has not been as serious as in other advanced countries by averaging just 2.8% percent in 2020 in Japan. Below, the graph shows the statistics for the unemployment rate in Japan from 1999 to 2021. Japan unemployment rate was at level 2.8% in 2021, unchanged from the previous year. Japan is one of the leading countries with economic factors such as agriculture, fishing, manufacturing, and tourism among others. Japan’s GDP per sector is as follows, Services 71.4%, Industry 27.4%, and Agriculture 1.2%. Japan is the third largest economy in the world after the United States and China. Japan is the fourth largest export market after the United States, China, and Germany. Japan has close ties with the United States, European Union, Latin America, Australia, China, and many other countries. Its unemployment rate is lower than other leading countries on level 2.8%. The Japanese hard-working ethics are recognized around the world. It is inseparable from a solid dedication to the organization and to do the job that needs to be done. Competition among coworkers and devotion to the organization are normal and encouraged. The Japanese language even has its own term for sudden death from being exhausted working called "KAROSHI".

Is Labor Market Mismatch a Big Deal in Japan?

Is Labor Market Mismatch a Big Deal in Japan?
Author: Mr.Ippei Shibata
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 26
Release: 2013-09-18
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1484310977

Despite its low unemployment rate, the recent shift in the Japanese Beveridge curve indicates increased labor mismatch. This paper quantifies the age, employment-type (full or part-time), and occupational mismatch in the Japanese labor market following Sahin and others (2013). Between April 2000 and April 2013, the age mismatch has steadily declined while the occupational and employmenttype mismatch has shown a countercyclical pattern, showing a sharp increase during the global financial crisis. Occupational mismatch accounted for approximtely 20-40 percent of the recent rise in the unemployment rate in Japan. The magnitude was comparable to that of the U.K. and the U.S.

Macroeconomics and the Japanese Economy

Macroeconomics and the Japanese Economy
Author: Hiroshi Yoshikawa
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 502
Release: 1995
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780198233268

This work proposes a new approach to macroeconomics which draws upon the experience of the Japanese economy. The approach is similar to the Old Keynesian view: it rejects the Walrasian approach, and singles out real demand as the fundamental determinant of output in the economy as a whole. However, by maintaining that real demand constraints are important not only in the short-run, but in the long-run as well, it goes beyond what is normally understood as the Keynesian approach. It is also very different from the New Keynesian Economics; in particular, it regards the rigidity of nominal wages/prices as of secondary importance. The work is extensively illustrated by almost 200 figures and tables of data.

The Japanese Employment System

The Japanese Employment System
Author: Marcus Rebick
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2005-06-02
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 019153000X

The stagnation of the Japanese economy and the ageing of Japanese society has led to major changes in the labour market in Japan. This comprehensive study looks at how the Japanese employment system is adapting to its new economic environment. Using the latest statistical evidence, the book focusses on the growing use of part-time and other forms of atypical employment relationships and illustrates how this is expressed in several different parts of the labour market. Particular attention is given to the changing situation of women, the decline of the family enterprise, the problems faced by older workers and the poor prospects for recent high school graduates. The recent rise in unemployment, including hidden unemployment is analysed. Relations between management and employees in Japanese corporations are also becoming more individualistic with the introduction of performance-related pay and the declining importance of enterprise unions. As a result of these changes, the future may see rising levels of income inequality. The Japanese labour force is declining with the ageing of the population and Japan's ability to cope is examined with special attention given to immigration policy. This book will be of interest to anyone interested in what is happening today in Japan and what the possibilities are for the future.