Bottlenecks and Current Issues of Industrial Sociology in Japan

Abstract

Japanese sociology is now losing its uniqueness in interdisciplinary labor studies. This paper aims to highlight the contemporary contribution and future challenges of sociology in labor studies by focusing on industrial sociology. To summarize the historical review in Japan, industrial sociology was established to collaborate with sociologists who have different interests and targets. This process results in industrial sociology having a strong presence within labor studies and causes its fragmentation into several sociological disciplines due to the absence of a theory that connects them. It is suggested that collaboration be revived among sociologists and that thinking about employment relations would lead to the cultivation of a new sociological perspective on labor studies.