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French Editor: G. Delamotte. Translation: Jonathan Hall
The period of economic stagnation, and the reforms which it brought about, have noticeably changed the organisation of the work force...
The OECD has recently published a study on the proportion of poor people in rich countries. Japan, with 15.3% of the population designated as poor, was second only to the United States (with 17.1%). The best score was achieved by Denmark (4.3%) and the average among all the OECD countries was 10.4%.
Why have the numbers of Japanese living below the official poverty line increased?1. The general situation is improving, but it has been bad for a long time. The number of unemployed without income has increased, and even many of those still in work are receiving lower pay.2. The proportion of part-time or fixed term employment has increased. These jobs are taken by a third of the work force and are a factor behind the impoverishment of young people, who are the majority engaged in such work. In the younger age groups there are reckoned to be four million casual labourers, and sixty thousand unemployed people who are neither students nor trainees.3. Although the minimum wage is low in comparison with other developed countries, there are people who work for even less, so that even though they are employed, they still fall below the official poverty line.4. The increasing age of the population is accompanied by rising numbers of people without economic support. The loss of a partner sometimes leads to a sudden lowering of retirement benefits.
5. The rising divorce rate is leading to increasing numbers of women with children to bring up. By my calculations, 60% of single-parent families fall below the poverty line.
The two groups currently enjoying the highest incomes are company directors (33%) and doctors (15%). After them come those in managerial and administrative positions, particularly in private companies (11%). Among the latter, two major changes have occurred: there are now less salaried employees in industrial firms than those who have set up their own companies, the former having moved into the service sector. For businessmen, as for doctors, it has become more profitable to belong to a small organisation. Nowadays Japanese people are less interested in joining a work team than in finding a job which will give them independence.