Japan Press Weekly

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2012 May 16 - 22 TOP3 [LABOR]

Japan's seniority-based wage system receives record high support

The number of people who support “Japan’s employment system” such as lifetime employment and a seniority-based pay system attained the highest level.

This was shown in results of a survey on workers’ living conditions recently released by the Japan Institute for Labor Policy and Training.

According to the survey, 88.1% of respondents approved of the lifetime employment system, an increase of 2% from the previous survey taken in 2007. More than 80% of young people in their twenties and thirties are also in favor of the system and there is no great difference among generations.

The approval rating of a seniority-based salary system was 74.5%, the highest ever, up by 2.6% from 2007. The number of the youth supporting the system rose by 10%, particularly favored by those in their thirties.

As to a question about “What society should work for in the future”, 38.6% agreed to “An equal society with little gap between rich and poor”, exceeding the 34.1% calling for “A society in which people can compete with each other based on their enthusiasm or ability”.

Japanese businesses introduced a performance-based pay system with the intention to cut total labor costs. Many workers received little compensation for their hard work under this system and they came to be aware of defects in the system.

Business circles backed up by the government have increased the use of contingent workers, calling it a “diversification of employment”. Many workers came to realize that it translates to unstable and short-term employment, resulting in a rise in support for the conventional lifetime employment system.