Journal | Inequalities
Journal issue | The Globalisation of Social Polarisation Within Nations
Research Article | The Japanese Myth: A Middle‑Class Society or a Reality Overwhelmed by Global Social Polarisation?
The Japanese Myth: A Middle‑Class Society or a Reality Overwhelmed by Global Social Polarisation?
Abstract
Japan has historically considered itself immune to social polarisation dynamics. The Japanese have also traditionally self-perceived as a homogenous middle-class society. Contemporary Japanese social reality is however quite different. The last 25 years have seen several structural changes, like the increase in inequality between regular and non-regular workers. Along with growing disparities, Japanese society’s self-perception as a homogeneous middle class has started to be challenged. Nowadays, inequalities generate an exploitative relationship involving five distinct social classes. This paper attempts to analyse the social polarisation issue in Japan while taking into account the serious structural-demographic transformations that it has been experiencing over the last 40 years.
Submitted: Dec. 30, 2023 | Accepted: Feb. 22, 2024 | Published May 20, 2024 | Language: en
Keywords Income inequalities • Homogeneous middle-class society • Japan • Shakai kakusa • Social polarisation
Copyright © 2024 Nicola Costalunga. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/INQ/9191-9002/2024/01/004
