Gender Inequality in the Tourism Industry in Japan: Regional Patterns of Employment in the Accommodation and Food Service Industry by Age-Group, Education, and Employment Type and Their Dynamics from the Perspectives of Gender Studies and Tourism Policy

Abstract

This study revealed regional patterns of employment in the tourism industry in Japan. There are 36 prefectures in which more than half of the employed population is made up of female temporary workers earning less than 1,490,000 yen. The percentage of female temporary employees exceeds 70% in more than two-thirds of municipalities analyzed. Regular employees are mainly men. However, they are young, relatively low-paid high school graduates, and the number of men in temporary employment is increasing. The tourism industry employs people whose gender, age, and educational background make it difficult for them to earn high wages. This is due to the following factors: 1) the shift to a service economy, the impoverishment of the middle class, and the implementation of policies to increase the value of space in developed countries; 2) Japan’s tourism policy and pursuit of local economic revitalization through the tourism industry; and 3) the discourses on regional revitalization which subordinate injustices.