TOKYO - While corporate profits continue to reach record highs, employee wages remain stagnant, leaving a growing segment of Japan’s workforce struggling. Since the collapse of the bubble economy, non-regular employment has steadily increased, creating a widening gap between regular and non-regular workers. Today, 15.4% of the population earns less than half the median standard of living, the second-highest proportion among the G7 countries after the United States.
Waseda University Professor Hashimoto of the Faculty of Human Sciences has categorized modern Japanese society into five classes, labeling non-regular workers (excluding part-time housewives) the “underclass.” This group, numbering 8.9 million, represents roughly one in seven of the employed population. Their average annual income is around 2 million yen, and more than 70% of men remain unmarried, unable to support household formation and child-rearing.
One factor behind the rise of the underclass is corporate labor practices. From fiscal 2014 to 2024, Japanese companies significantly increased retained earnings, but wages remained largely flat. For the past two decades, non-regular employees have earned only 60% to 70% of the wages of regular employees, with little sign of the gap narrowing. The expansion of lower-paid non-regular positions has entrenched economic insecurity, discouraging consumption and child-rearing, and fueling educational disparities that could undermine Japan’s competitiveness and long-term growth.
To close these divides, companies are being urged to adopt inclusive management that leaves no one behind. Improving conditions for non-regular workers is essential, as is strengthening the potential of mid-career hires from the so-called employment ice age generation and senior workers. Some companies have already begun making changes. Aeon Retail has introduced new leadership positions for non-regular staff, offering bonuses, regional allowances, and retirement benefits equivalent to full-time employees on an hourly basis. Security firm ALSOK Saitama has raised the maximum hiring age for full-time employees to 59, creating opportunities for older workers. At NGK Insulators, senior employees’ wages are being tied to clear performance standards, enabling them to earn pay levels on par with active managers.
Source: テレ東BIZ
