Historical Studies on a ‘Living Wage’ in Japan

: from the Perspective of Working Hours and Social Security

Abstract

This article aims to contribute to theories of the Japanese welfare state by examining a ‘living wage’ from the perspective of working hours and social security. In Japan, there are few social security benefits for those of working age because they are expected to support themselves based on their income from work. Winning wages high enough to support families has been a major goal of the Japanese labour movement. However, a precondition for a ‘living wage’ has been flexible and excessively long working hours. But if single mothers have to work unlimited hours, they cannot find sufficient time to care for their children. This article demonstrates that workers who are taking care of children cannot earn a ‘living wage’. In the prewar period, working hours were one of the major topics of social policy studies, but research interest in this topic declined in the postwar period. The reason for this change was the shift of researchers’ interest to the employment system of male regular employees in large corporations. This article examines the works of Emiko Takenaka and her theory on women’s employment from the 1960s to the 1980s, and reassesses the implications of her works for contemporary research issues including wages, working hours, and social security.