The Relationship Between the Japanese Employment System and Platform Work

Findings from a Survey of Amazon Delivery Workers

Abstract

This paper examines the working conditions of platform work in Japan in terms of the Japanese employment system. Based on interviews with platform workers who work in the delivery sector, including for Amazon, as well as union representatives, this paper discusses how delivery companies secure the enforceability of labor. Three types of labor organization are classified : direct contracts between Amazon and delivery workers via the Amazon Flex service, contracts between delivery workers and Amazon’s subcontractors （called “delivery providers”）, and workers employed in the existing delivery sector. In addition, this paper argues that these classifications of delivery workers can be characterized in three ways : as a loophole created by idealized platform work under direct control, as a utilization of the extended Japanese employment system under indirect control, and as a utilization of the existing Japanese employment system under indirect control. These categories of laborers are made possible by the utilization of a peripheral labor force as a characteristic of the Japanese employment system and the existing delivery sector in Japan.