Abstract
The decline of Japanese-style employment has caused many serious employment problems for Japanese and their children. The poverty rate among working families grew from 12.8% in 1997 to 19.0% in 2007 (the poverty line depends on the standard of public assistance). To begin with, we have to count the increasing number of contingent workers who work full-time hours and at the same time support themselves through their own earnings. Second, we must pay attention to the increasing percentage of low-income male permanent workers, especially in their thirties and forties. Third, the unemployment rate has been very high, but the Japanese government has drastically reduced unemployment insurance coverage. On the other hand, the effect of income redistribution of tax and public social expenditure has been very slight for Japanese working families. Japanese-style employment was the most reliable safety net until the end of the 1990s. Now, Japanese society will have to construct a "welfare state" for the first time.
