Class and the Distribution of Economic Wealth in Japan(PAPERS READ AT THE AUTUMN CONFERENCE SYMPOSIUM, 2002 Globalized World and the Association of Global Citizens)

Abstract

Capital accumulation takes precedence over people's living conditions in Japan. This is a matter of distribution of economic wealth, in which the company has an advantage over labor. The theme of this paper is to clarify the social system by which the distribution of economic wealth is determined in Japan. A comparative analysis of economic wealth distribution between developed countries shows that Japan is a country where the distribution has a remarkably strong bias toward capital at the expense of labor. This bias can surely be expected to intensify as a result of government 'restructuring' policies. One typical policy of this kind is the tax reform for fiscal year 2003. This tax reform is designed so that the government can raise the income tax on wages, while reducing tax on the profits of big business by providing tax breaks for investment in research and development. Distribution of economic wealth is determined through a power relation between capital and labor. That same power relation also determines government policies that impact on the distribution pattern. The point here is to explain the social system that enables big business to hold its advantage over labor in Japan. The controlling power of big business in Japan is analyzed at three levels of society in this paper: First I look at the workings of so-called Japanese management at the company level, second at the subcontracting system at the inter-firm level, and third at the 'iron triangle' coalition that links big business to bureaucrats and politicians at the government level.