Abstract
This article aims to clarify the structure and dynamics of contemporary Japan as so-called "gap-widening society" from the viewpoint of class studies. For this purpose, 4-class scheme, which consists of capitalist, new middle, working and old middle classes on the basis of jobs, employment status, size of business and gender, is introduced and operationalized for quantitative analysis. Thereafter, economic disparity among classes are measured, income determination processes and income functions are estimated, and structure and trend of inter-generational class mobility is examined. Findings are as follows. (1) Class locations are very important determinant of income, independent of factors such as education, years of work experience and size of business. Income functions vary depending on class locations, which means different income determination processes exist corresponding to class locations. (2)Economic disparity among classes is expanding and its importance as component of total economic disparity is becoming large. Poverty rates vary greatly depending on class locations and these variations are becoming large. (3)Concerning about intergenerational class mobility, all classes show some exclusiveness, nevertheless capitalist class is extremely exclusive, and its exclusiveness has been strengthened in this 30 years. These findings imply that class theory and 4-class scheme have much power of explanation for social structure and processes of the "gap-widening society" in contemporary Japan. Speaking generally, contemporary Japan can be called class society.
