Family-company relationship in Japan after the World War II

Abstract

Setting 'family wage' as the key concept, this paper aims to analyze family-company relationship in Japan after World War II.
There is a clear division of labor between husband and wife. The male breadwinner stays at the company all day long, the wife takes care of the home and the children. Not conjugal love but the money that the husband brings is the main family ties. The husband's company supported this Japanese-style 'modern family', offering long-term employment and various in-firm welfare, while keeping the husband as a 'company man'. 'Modern family' was materialized in the high economic growth of the 1960s.
This 'materialistic' family ties became visible in the 80s. To utilize human resources more effectively, the company transferred its male employees from one plant to another. The husband had to leave for his new job by himself, because his wife refused to go with her husband. But, separate lives did not result in increasing divorces.
Critics say that Japanese families are at the brink of collapse due to downsizing and restructuring of ailing companies after the burst of the bubble in the 90s. Until now, however, downsizing and restructuring has been limited in scope. More frequent transfer of employees has not increased divorce. So far, the 'materialistic' modern family has proved to be sustainable.