Abstract
This paper surveys the recent studies on income distribution in Japan with particular attention to empirical works. The present decade has experienced various revisions on tax system which involves the redistributive effect of income throughout the world. This stimulates the study for income distribution from various aspects. Some are made to clarify the present status of income distribution or others to evaluate the revisions. This survey reviews these new empirical results and shows that the income inequality for Japan ranks in the average among economically advanced western countries, which renews a widely believed knowledge that the income inequality in Japan is quite low.
