Japan's Employment System and Family Responsibility

Abstract

is paper analyzes the eeects of Japan s family responsibility support policy related to care work. A gender-segregated structure was formed in the Japanese employment system where the male worker was the breadwinner and the female was the caregiver in a family. is structure was linked to the tax system and the social security system, in both of which the male breadwinner supported the full-time housewife. e 1985 reform of the national pension system introduced Category III insured persons that did not need to pay contributions. e gender-segregated structure against the Equal Employment Opportunity Law introduced a course-based personnel management system to keep the gender-segregated structure. e collapse of the bubble economy brought longer working hours and more non-regular work for people as part-timers or temporary workers. Positive action policies for children and working mothers and father could not be utilized suuciently in the employment system.