Japan Labor Issues
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2026

• Looking Back on 30 Years of Measures to Address the Declining Birthrate (PDF:1.7MB)
  MATSUURA Tsukasa (Chuo University)
• Transformation and Persistence in Japanese Youth Labor Market (PDF:886KB)
  FUKUI Yasutaka (Nagoya University)

• Examination of the Occupational Polarization Hypothesis: Analysis on the Japanese Labor Market in 21st Century Based on the Employment Status Survey Data (PDF:978KB)
  SANO Kazuko (Kindai University)
• Non-Compete Clauses and Restrictions on Labor Mobility in Japan (PDF:680KB)
  KOHNO Naoko (Kwansei Gakuin University)

• Maternal Employment in Japan Over the Past 40 Years: Evidence from the Population Census (PDF:941KB)
  FUKAI Taiyo (Gakushuin University)
• Trends in the Gender Gap in Time Use among Japanese Married Couples (PDF:761KB)
  YODA Shohei (The University of Tokyo)

2025

• Position of Japan Regarding Changes in Work Environment Following Introduction of AI Technology in Workplace: International Comparison Focusing on Responses by Corporate Organizations (PDF:741KB)
  IWATSUKI Shinya
• An International Comparison of Japanese Jobs (PDF:870KB)
  ASUYAMA Yoko (IDE-JETRO)

• Advancing Women with Interrupted Careers: Focusing on Women's Motivation for Autonomous Skill Development during Middle Age and Older (PDF:239KB)
  TAGAMI Kota
• A Comparative Study on Employment Policy Target for Persons with Disabilities: Japan, France, and Germany (PDF:1.0MB)
  TERADA Gaku (Master of International and Administrative Policy, Hitotsubashi University. Chief, Employment Security Bureau, MHLW.)

• Issues for Regulating Working Hours in the Post-Work-Style-Reform Era (PDF:239KB)
  HOSOKAWA Ryo (Aoyama Gakuin University)
• Effects of Paternity Leave Take-up Rate in Fathers’ Industry of Work on Mothers’ Employment and Health (PDF:317KB)
  NAKAYAMA Mao (Japan Women’s University)
  ISHIKAWA Yumi (Shiga University)

2024

• Current Status of the Jobseekers Support System as a Second Safety Net (PDF:1.3MB)
  SAKAI Tadashi (Hosei University)
• Japanese System of Vocational Education and Training in Historical Comparison: Focusing on the Role of Schools and Companies in the Formation of Vocational Competencies (PDF:899KB)
  TERADA Moriki (Nagoya University)

• Changes in Industrial Structure and Work Styles in Japan (PDF:1.9MB)
  YAMASHITA Mitsuru (Meiji University)
  OGAWA Shinichi (Yokohama National University)
• Post-Industrialization and Employment Fluidity: A Focus on Workers’ Careers (PDF:955KB)
  TAGAMI Kota (JILPT)

• Japanese Wives’ Decisions on Co-Residence and Employment Choices upon Husbands’ Workplace Relocation (Tenkin) (PDF:868KB)
  SEKIJIMA Kozue (Nippon Institute for Research Advancement)
  ABE Mayuko (Japan Center for Economic Research)
• The Diffusion of Parental Leave for Fathers in Japanese Firms: Exploring Antecedents and Performance Outcomes (PDF:986KB)
  
  • Advance Published on October 31, 2023 (PDF:968KB)
  UCHIDA Daisuke (Keio University)
  URAKAWA Kunio (Kyushu University)
  YU Younan (The University of Nagasaki)

2023

• The Shrinking Middle Class in Japan (PDF:1.3KB)
  SHINOZAKI Takehisa (Waseda University)
  TAKAHASHI Yoko (JILPT)

• The Labor Policy Council: Functions of the Group Consultation in the Process of Forming Labor Policy in Japan (PDF:802KB)
  SUWA Yasuo (Hosei University)
• Examining Japan's Labor Standards Inspection Administration and Its Challenge from the Perspective of the Inspection Offices (PDF:959KB)
  IKEYAMA Kiyoko (Kobe University)
• Labor Tribunal Proceedings: The Paradigm Shift in Labor Dispute Resolution and its Future Challenges (PDF:1.0MB)
  ASANO Takahiro (Hokkai-Gakuen University and attorney at law)

• Japanese Companies' Wage Determination in the Heightened Climate for Wage Increases (PDF:520KB)
  NISHIMURA Itaru (JILPT)
• Promoting Employment of Older Workers and Adjustment of their Working Conditions at Japanese Firms (PDF:412KB)
  KAJITANI Shinya (Kyoto Sangyo University)

• Changes in the Meaning of Work in Japan: A Cross-National Comparison between Developed Countries (PDF:429KB) 
  YONEDA Yukihiro (Wako University)
• Is Japanese Internship for the Purpose of Education or Recruitment?: A Study of its Historical Background, and Recent Changes and Future Challenges (PDF:436KB) 
  KAMENO Jun (Hokkaido University)

2022

• The Future of the Japanese Long-Term Employment Society: The Consequences of Post-Industrialization and Increase of Unmarried Workers (PDF:2.75MB)
  IKEDA Shingou, TAGAMI Kota, SAKAI Kazufumi (JILPT)
• Why Do Firms Concentrate in Tokyo? An Economic Geography Perspective (PDF:351KB)
  MIZUNO Masahiko (Osaka Prefecture University)
• Trends in Task Distribution in Japan, 1990-2015: Evidence from the Occupational Information Network of Japan and the Population Census Data (PDF:1.3MB)
  KOMATSU Kyoko (JILPT)
  MUGIYAMA Ryota (Gakushuin University)
  

• Gender Equality in the Workplace from a Legal Perspective: Current Situation and Issues of Japan's Equal Employment Opportunity Act (PDF:325KB)
  NAKAKUBO Hiroya (Hitotsubashi University)
• Gender Inequality in Access to Managerial Positions in Japan from a Cross-National Comparative Perspective: The Role of Labor Markets and Welfare States (PDF:1.07MB)
  TAKENOSHITA Hirohisa (Keio University)
  TAGAMI Kota (JILPT. Doctoral program in Keio University (at the time of writing))
• Cooperation for Problem-Solving: The History of Quality Circles in Japan (PDF:462KB)
  OGAWA Shinichi (Yokohama National University)

2021

• The Necessity of Reduced Working Hours under the Re-familization of Elderly Care (PDF:983KB)
  IKEDA Shingou
• Selection and Training of Women Officers in Japanese Labor Unions: Focusing on Enterprise Unions (PDF:453KB)
  GOTO Kayo (Labour Research Council)

• How Human Coexistence with ICT in the Era of Telework Enabled Should Be: From the Viewpoint of Now and the Future of Telework in Japan (PDF:347KB)
  YANAGIHARA Sachiko (University of Toyama)
• Panel Data Analysis of the Generational Replacement Effect on Employment in Japanese Companies (PDF:354KB)
  Yasuda Hiroki (Tokyo Keizai University)
  Araki Hiroko (Keio University)
  Juan Nelson Martinez Dahbura (Data Scientist)

• The Law to Prevent “Power Harassment” in Japan (PDF:345KB)
  OBATA Fumiko (Kyoto University)
• Where Does Career Support and Education in Japanese Universities Stand? Erosion by Business, or a New Form of University Education? (PDF:560KB)
  KOMIKAWA Koichiro (Hosei University)

2020

• Legal Issues Surrounding Employment-like Working Styles: Disguised Employment and Dependent Self-employment (PDF:479KB)
  KAMATA Koichi (Toyo University)
• Wage Disparities between Standard and Non-standard Employees: From the Perspective of Human Resource Management (PDF:291KB)
  SHIMANUKI Tomoyuki (Hitotsubashi University)
• The Latent Structure of the Japanese Labor Market and the Type of Employment: Latent Class Analysis with Finite Mixture Model (PDF:596KB)
  SUZUKI Kyoko (The University of Tokyo)

• Japan’s “Employment Ice-age Generation” Today: Investigating the Impact of Instability in the School-to-work Transition (PDF:562KB)
  Yukie Hori
• The Slow Decline of the Male-breadwinner Family Model in Contemporary Japan and Its Ramifications for Men’s Lives (PDF:236KB)
  Yuko Ogasawara (Nihon University)
• International Comparison of Higher Education Cost Sharing and Japanese Challenges (PDF:474KB)
  Masayuki Kobayashi (The University of Tokyo)

2019

• Legal Regulation of Unreasonable Treatment of Non-regular Employees in Japan (PDF:231KB)
  Chikako Kanki (Rikkyo University)
• Why did Japanese Dual-earner Couples Increase since the Late 1980s? (PDF:594KB)
  Akiko Sato Oishi (Chiba University)
• The Formulation of Professional and Vocational Universities: Background and Challenges of a New Institutional Type in Japan (PDF:420KB)
  Motohisa Kaneko (The University of Tokyo)

• The Corporate Community and Changes in the Japanese-style Employment System (PDF:406KB)
  Mitsuru Yamashita (Meiji University)
• Can "Owners" of Convenience Stores be "Workers" under the Japanese Labor Union Act? (PDF:280KB)
  Yoko Hashimoto (Gakushuin University)
• Who Holds Multiple Jobs? Empirical Analysis of Multiple Job Holding Using a Japanese Online Survey (PDF:432KB)
  Atsushi Kawakami (Toyo University)

2018

• A Legal Study on Equal or Balanced Treatment for Regular and Non-Regular Workers in Japan: With Particular Focus on the Relationship between Anti-Discrimination Principle and Policy-Based Regulations for Equal or Balanced Treatment (PDF:315KB)
  Koichi Tominaga (Sophia University)
• Fixed-Term Contract Employees and Intra-Firm Wage Gaps: Focusing on the Reasons Why Companies Use Them (PDF:484KB)
  Koji Takahashi
• Why Do the Japanese Work Long Hours? Sociological Perspectives on Long Working Hours in Japan (PDF:501KB)
  Hiroshi Ono (Hitotsubashi University)
• Challenges for Workplace regarding the Autonomy of Working Hours: Perspective for the Prevention of Overwork (PDF:325KB)
  Tomohiro Takami
• Learning Histories and Careers: The Outcome of Kosen (National Colleges of Technology) Education (PDF:279KB)
  Masakazu Yano (Tokyo Institute of Technology)
• Current Status of Talent Management in Japan: Based on Insights into Procurement and Development of Next-Generation Executive Human Resources at Japanese Manufacturers (PDF:384KB)
  Itaru Nishimura

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