Abstract
The main aim of this article is to discuss the role of labour policy in causing the rapid increase in the number of temporary jobs focusing on the Temporary Work Law (1985) in Japan: the formal name is Law for Securing the Proper Operation of Worker Dispatching Undertakings and Improved Working Conditions for Dispatched Workers. It particularly attempts to answer three questions: why and how was it legislated?, and what kind of impact has it had on the labour market of our time? The conclusions are as follows: First, the paradigm of labour policy has changed since the 1980's，under the influence of economic change, the free-work theory and new labour market theory. Some of the policy targets, including the promotion of external labour market and temporary work，were pursued in the middle of the 1980's. Second, although almost all foregoing studies sounded rather simple，the process of legislating the Temporary Work Law was actually complicated. The initiative was neither taken solely by the bureaucrat nor by the business interest. In the first place, interested groups demanded legislation of the Law for the protection of temporary workers, and then business groups checked the process. So, the Temporary Work Law became patchy in the end. Third, the labour market for temporary job has fexpanded considerably since legislation. However, the Ministry of Labour missed the policy targets. Because the job market for professionals was not developed properly and most temporary workers were still young, female and non-profession.
