Japanese Sociological Review
Online ISSN : 1884-2755
Print ISSN : 0021-5414
ISSN-L : 0021-5414
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Volume 59, Issue 4
Displaying 1-20 of 20 articles from this issue
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Special Issue
  • Introduction
    Yuriko SAITO, Hisataka KOBAYASHI
    2009 Volume 59 Issue 4 Pages 630-631
    Published: March 31, 2009
    Released on J-STAGE: April 01, 2010
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.59.630
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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  • Inequality and Fluidization of the Social Stratification System in Contemporary Japan
    Yoshimichi SATO
    2009 Volume 59 Issue 4 Pages 632-647
    Published: March 31, 2009
    Released on J-STAGE: April 01, 2010
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.59.632
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    This article describes how two seemingly contradictory concepts of social stratification in contemporary Japan— "fluidization" and "stabilization" —can be understood and explained in a coherent manner. A classic example of "fluidization" is an increase in non-regular workers, while that of "stabilization" is an increase in the rigidity of the intergenerational social mobility of a particular stratum. We hypothesize that fluidization has not necessarily occurred in all strata; some strata are still under the umbrella of protective institutions, while others are being influenced by the rapidly increasing fluidity. By examining empirical findings of the 2005 Social Stratification and Social Mobility Project, we argue that this hypothesis is generally supported. In the concluding section, we consider the implications of the coexistence of stability and fluidization in the study of social stratification.
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  • Intergenerational Class Mobility and Japanese Society
    Long-term trends and cross-national comparisons
    Hiroshi ISHIDA, Satoshi MIWA
    2009 Volume 59 Issue 4 Pages 648-662
    Published: March 31, 2009
    Released on J-STAGE: April 01, 2010
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.59.648
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    This paper examines two topics related to intergenerational class mobility: long-term trends in class mobility in post-war Japan and cross-national comparison. First, the trends in relative class mobility, which is the indicator of societal openness, show an overall stability in post-war Japan. There was no evidence to support the notion of increased rigidity and mobility barriers in recent Japan. This notion was probably derived from the changes in class structure and absolute mobility. Both the share of the upper white-collar class and the proportion of upward mobility were reduced; at the same time, both the share of the unskilled manual class and the proportion of downward mobility were increased. These changes probably affected people's perception of increased rigidity in class structure.
    Second, this paper examined Japan's position in relation to other industrial societies in the 1970s and 1990s. With regard to relative mobility rate, Japan was located in the middle position, implying that it is neither more fluid nor less fluid than other industrial societies. With regard to absolute mobility rate, Japan showed a trend of a rapid increase in total mobility rate following the process of industrialization, just like other late-industrializing societies. The paper examined the relative location of all the nations in our analysis by taking into account the trends of both absolute mobility rate and relative mobility rate during the process of industrialization.
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  • A Comparative Study of Social Stratification in East Asian Societies
    The reward differences between occupation and social inequality
    Shin ARITA
    2009 Volume 59 Issue 4 Pages 663-681
    Published: March 31, 2009
    Released on J-STAGE: April 01, 2010
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.59.663
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    This paper explores social stratification and social inequality in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan by comprehensively analyzing the effects of occupation on one's class status. In this paper, the author examines the effects that a person's occupational conditions, such as occupation (interpreted narrowly), employment status, type of employment contract (standard or non-standard), and company size, have on his/her individual income and class consciousness, and how these effects vary within East Asian societies on the basis of each society's unique labor market structure and local institutions.
    The analysis of the 2005 Social Stratification and Social Mobility (SSM) survey data led to the following findings. On the whole, the effects of occupational conditions on income and class consciousness are similar within all these societies. However, the relative impacts of these conditions differ considerably. While occupation (narrowly interpreted) has predominant effects in Taiwan, the effects of company size and type of employment contract are also considerable in Japan, and partly so in Korea.
    It is also notable that in the case of Japanese males, company size and type of employment contract have significant effects on class consciousness, even after the effects of individual income are controlled. These effects can be attributed to some factors that are unique to the Japanese management system, such as career-long employment and the wage seniority system that are usually offered to the standard male employees of large companies. From these findings, we can conclude that we should focus on local institutional factors as well as global factors for a better understanding of present-day social stratification and social inequality in East Asian societies.
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  • Socioeconomic Differences in Educational Attainment
    Trends and mechanisms
    Hiroyuki KONDO, Kazuhisa FURUTA
    2009 Volume 59 Issue 4 Pages 682-698
    Published: March 31, 2009
    Released on J-STAGE: April 01, 2010
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.59.682
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    The prevailing view on educational stratification in recent decades is that inequality in educational opportunity has persisted despite educational expansion. This paper examined these trends in Japan after World War II and tested some stratification mechanisms by applying ordered logit models, especially "partial proportional odds models." The data from the 2005 Social Stratification and Mobility (SSM) survey were used. The major findings are as follows: (1)The effects of socioeconomic variables—father's occupation, high parental education, and family possessions—on educational attainment clearly decreased in the middle-aged cohort, which comprised individuals who had finished compulsory education after the high economic growth of the 1960s. (2)Although the effects of parental education partially increased in the younger cohort, which comprised individuals who entered high schools and universities after the mid-1980s, the effects of family possessions continued to decrease and the effects of father's occupation showed little change. From a long-term perspective, we may conclude that social inequality in educational opportunities has been decreasing. In addition to the trend analysis, we examined a "relative risk aversion" (RRA) hypothesis. To test the hypothesis, we specified a necessary condition—namely, that there must be an interaction between the socioeconomic variables and thresholds in the ordered logit models. (3)On these grounds, we found that the effect pattern of parental education consistent with the RRA hypothesis. However, this is not the case for father' s occupation. We concluded that the RRA hypothesis was irrelevant in Japanese educational stratification, insofar as it was speculated in the context of occupational mobility.
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  • Occupational Segregation and Opportunities for Career Advancement over the Life Course
    Miki NAKAI
    2009 Volume 59 Issue 4 Pages 699-715
    Published: March 31, 2009
    Released on J-STAGE: April 01, 2010
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.59.699
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    The aim of this paper is to examine how the aspects of occupational practices derived from the gender-based division of labor affect people's opportunities for career advancement—such as departure from/continuity of full-time employment and access to a position of authority and control in the workplace. On the basis of occupational history data from the Social Stratification and Social Mobility Survey conducted in Japan in 2005 as well as information on the proportion of male and female workers in each detailed occupational category, we reveal gender disparities in their job histories, career attainment process, and job authority. Despite the significant increase in dual-earner households, gender remains an important constraint to women's employment continuity and attainment of workplace authority. The findings presented here suggest that highly educated women do not necessarily remain longer in the full-time labor force and that their spouse's job stability appears to increase the probability of departure from the labor force for married women. The analysis also reveals that women in both heavily female- and male-dominated occupations tend to have better access to workplace authority than women in other occupations. However, our findings suggest that women's own human capital, such as education and labor force experience have limited effects on the authority attainment process. Furthermore, birth cohort, which refer s to the entry cohort in the labor market, appears to be a determinant of promotional opportunities, and those who entered the labor market during the Heisei recession tend to have limited opportunities for promotions. The implications for policies promoting gender equality are discussed.
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  • Social Capital in Stratification Research
    Equality of opportunity reconsidered as the fundamental problem
    Kazuto MISUMI
    2009 Volume 59 Issue 4 Pages 716-733
    Published: March 31, 2009
    Released on J-STAGE: April 01, 2010
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.59.716
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    In this paper, we discuss the fundamental problem generated by social capital in social stratification research from the viewpoint of equality of opportunity. After reviewing the research developments in the field of social stratification, which have been brought about by social capital, we discuss the fundamental problem affecting the relationship between the labor market and social structure. In functionalist terminology, social capital is essentially paradoxical (good and evil) with regard to equality of opportunity (in other words, efficient functioning of labor market). Research on stratification shall accept this paradox and develop theory of equality of opportunity mediated by social relations. In order to represent an analysis framework, for example, we conducted a thought experiment: if we assume that a society's labor market completely depends on social capital, then we can describe the original condition of equality of opportunity and how it was stratified. This framework could serve as a guide for conducting a comparative study from the viewpoint of stratification culture. By analyzing the 2005 Social Stratification and Social Mobility (SSM) Survey data collected in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, we can reveal that friends' capital and relatives' capital do not necessarily reduce the level of equality of opportunity. Moreover, the mobility pattern in a hypothetical society could have the power to generate a certain volume of the white-collar strata, even if the strength of the same differs among the three countries.
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  • Semantics of Status Identification
    Social psychology in reflective stratified societies
    Toshiki SATO
    2009 Volume 59 Issue 4 Pages 734-751
    Published: March 31, 2009
    Released on J-STAGE: April 01, 2010
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.59.734
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    The definition of status identification has been shifting between subjective simplification and objective status. In this paper, using data from the Social Stratification and Social Mobility (SSM) survey, we reconsider the character of this variable and attempt to define it more adequately.
    In the 2005 SSM datum, the distribution of "upper/middle/lower" -identification is independent of the order of the questionnaires. This implies that this variable is objective with regard to the meaning of "fait social" (E. Durkheim). The divergence between high and low income class expands more than 85 and 95 SSM, but, on the contrary, "1-10" -identification shows a peak at "5" in all income classes. This duality of differentiation and uniformity is characteristic in the stratification of the 2005 datum based on social psychology.
    Status identification is the self-estimation of a person's social status, using native categories like "upper," "middle," and "lower" as a frame of reference. Thus, it constructs a self-referent relation in a reflective stratified society and provides an interesting example for modern theoretical sociology.
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Articles
  • Change in Inequality and Aggregation of Subjective Well-being by Redistribution of Income
    A simulation analysis using the 2005 SSM survey dataset
    Atsushi ISHIDA
    2009 Volume 59 Issue 4 Pages 752-768
    Published: March 31, 2009
    Released on J-STAGE: April 01, 2010
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.59.752
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    Recently, normative studies on distribution principles have begun to attract the attention of many sociologists. I would like to propose a sociological research program that can contribute to these normative discussions. The research program I propose aims to estimate various social influences that are a result of the application of a certain distribution principle. On the basis of this concept, this study aims to simulate a change in the aggregation of subjective well-being through the virtual redistribution of income using the 2005 Social Stratification and Social Mobility (SSM) Survey dataset. In this article, I apply the egalitarian redistribution method so as to analyze the relationship between the reduction of inequality and aggregation of subjective well-being. At first, the function of subjective wellbeing (life satisfaction score) to income is presumed from the data according to an individual socio-economic profile. Subsequently, using these functions, the change in the aggregation of subjective well-being by certain redistribution is estimated.
    As a result of the analysis, two main findings are obtained. First, in both the redistribution of individual income model and the family income model, the effect of the egalitarian redistribution of income on the aggregation of subjective well-being is restrictive. Second, a moderate equalized redistribution results in maximum increase of the social aggregation of subjective well-being. This suggests that a moderate equal distribution is effective for the purpose of the efficient improvement of societal well-being.
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  • How have Hansen's Disease Sufferers Constructed the Reality of Their Everyday Lives Amidst Social Change in Postwar Japan?
    From the Furusato no mori movement at the urban sanatorium
    Katsuhiko SAKATA
    2009 Volume 59 Issue 4 Pages 769-786
    Published: March 31, 2009
    Released on J-STAGE: April 01, 2010
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.59.769
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    This article examines the Furusato no mori movement, which was organized by the inmates of the National Hansen's disease sanatorium Tama Zenshouen, in order to explore how they developed the relationships among themselves and made their lives meaningful amidst social change in postwar Japan.
    The isolation policy for the people who were infected with Hansen's disease was established through the formation of the nation-state since the beginning of the modern era in Japan. This isolation policy segregated Hansen's disease sufferers from the general public and confined them to sanatoriums. This policy was adopted for a century, until the year 1996.
    Meanwhile, the attitude toward Hansen's disease sufferers had radically changed in the process of urbanization in postwar Japan, especially in the case of Tama Zenshouen. In such a scenario, it became essential for those afflicted with the disease to construct the reality of their everyday lives as the conventional ways of living in the sanatorium had changed significantly.
    Through the Furusato no mori movement, the Tama Zenshouen inmates tried to rebuild relationships among themselves and with people outside the sanatorium since the latter half of the 1970s. They found new meaning in their lives and changed their mindset from "we cannot go back to our homes" to "we have made a new home by ourselves." From this research, we can understand the experiences of Hansen's disease sufferers in the sanatorium and how they have made their lives more meaningful amidst social change in postwar Japan.
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  • Sharing and Overlapping of Costs with Regard to the Siting of Waste Disposal Facilities
    A new perspective on the theory of the beneficial and costly spheres
    Takashi NAKAZAWA
    2009 Volume 59 Issue 4 Pages 787-804
    Published: March 31, 2009
    Released on J-STAGE: April 01, 2010
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.59.787
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    The purpose of this paper is to present a new perspective on the theory of the beneficial and costly spheres by means of case studies on conflicts in the siting of waste disposal facilities.
    This theory is one of the main paradigms in environmental sociology in Japan, but it has not adequately analyzed the relation between a costly sphere and its precedent. The construction of a second waste disposal facility in Kashiwa city reduced the burden of waste disposal, which was earlier concentrated in another part of the city. In contrast to this, the second waste disposal facility in Hinode town was constructed at the same site as the first facility. As a result, Hinode town not only faces problems from the first facility but must also bear the additional cost of the second facility.
    Thus, the two cases of siting locally unwanted facilities widely differ with regard to their problem structures. I call the former case "cost sharing siting" and the latter, "cost overlapping siting." In cost sharing siting, the purpose of constructing the facility is to achieve "fairness of distribution"; thus, the locals who oppose the siting tend to claim that public officials are unfair with regard to the siting process. However, in cost overlapping siting, people opposing the project support "fairness of distribution." Further, the former type can achieve local consensus on the necessity of the facility more easily than the latter.
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  • Ability as Medium and "Able/Unable"
    An essay about the restructuring of Niklas Luhmann's education system theory
    Nobuyuki KOBAYASHI
    2009 Volume 59 Issue 4 Pages 805-820
    Published: March 31, 2009
    Released on J-STAGE: April 01, 2010
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.59.805
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    The purpose of this article is to restructure Niklas Luhmann's education system theory in such a way that it becomes possible to easily compare two functional systems. Therefore, I added some propositions to the theory. I replaced "life course" with "ability" as the medium of the theory and "knowledge" with "example" as the form of the theory. Subsequently, I pointed out the contrast between "able" and "unable" as a binary code that applies to its medium, "ability." At the same time, I assumed that selection in the education system is not a type of code but a program. I finally defined the function of the education system as one where people expect to engage in actions that allow them to communicate with others in the future.
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