With the background of worsening problems such as climate change and inequality, and the development of regional economic integration, international migration has been steadily increasing. This article will discuss the problems of foreign workers in Japan from the standpoint of social policy and suggest some desirable options. We begin by tracing the historical development of foreign worker policy and examine the present legal regime in Japan along with related public policies. The present institutional scheme, established since 1990, remains heavily weighted toward immigration control. A policy of integrating foreigners, which should guarantee their rights, encourage fulfillment of their obligations and promote their active participation in society, is still dependent upon the initiatives of municipalities. In the meantime, 1） in Asia, there have emerged complex mismatches in labor markets, not only for the highly skilled, but also for mid―skilled and low―skilled workers. In Japan as well, foreigners who have entered the country for the purpose of working account for less than 30 percent of the foreign workforce. The need to support language learning and vocational training of foreigners has proven to be very strong. In addition, 2） in Asia, internal migration of youth from rural to urban areas has become an important trend. In Japan’s rural areas, youth are leaving, and the ratio of foreign inhabitants is rising. More than half of foreign inhabitants have already acquired permanent resident status. There is an especially strong need to socially integrate second― and third―generation foreigners. Finally, 3） with the establishment of the ASEAN Community at the end of 2015, protecting migrant workers has been acknowledged as an important policy agenda. However, there has been little political will in Japan to enact legislation to prohibit discrimination against foreigners. Even as international migration has begun to grow faster as a consequence of the “refugee crisis”, it is very difficult for Japan to guarantee stable employment and high living standards for foreigners. Furthermore, mismatches in the labor markets cannot be effectively reduced under the present system. In order to reduce the risks of foreigners and their children falling into the social underclass, there is an urgent need to establish a comprehensive migration policy comprised of the two pillars of immigration control and an integration scheme for foreigners.

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In recent years, Japanese universities and corporations have established many new initiatives to train “globally competent personnel” and employ “highly skilled foreigners” （especially international students）. As a result, the new practice of “global talent management” has begun to attract great interest in Japanese multinational corporations. They are now actively seeking to employ international students possessing advanced talents as “globally competent personnel” and to develop their skills. In addition, nurturing globally competent personnel has become a major educational concern at universities in Japan. As Japanese universities strive to develop foreign students as globally competent personnel and as a “high―skilled foreign workforce,” it can be assumed that there is a system in which Japanese corporations use “global talent management” to transform globally competent personnel into a source of strong competitiveness. This report is intended to clarify the current state of that system, especially by elucidating the development of policies regarding globally competent personnel in Japan that differ from “globally competent talent” and “global leadership” in the West.

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In light of the changing international economic environment and the strengthening of economic partnerships, the number of foreigners who will come to work in Japan and the number of Japanese citizens who will work abroad are expected to see further increase. To enable these workers and their families to live with peace of mind, it is essential that they receive proper social security. However, social security systems in all countries have developed as purely domestic regimes reflecting their national origins ; consequently, they are incompatible with other national systems. Thus, it is quite possible that workers who cross borders will confront various problems regarding social security once they have relocated. This not only presents complications for workers and their families, but it could also discourage workers from relocating. Therefore, this paper will focus on workers who have relocated across borders, with reference to initiatives in Germany and the European Union, where social security coordination has been implemented between many countries over the years. The paper will then explore specific measures required to solve social security problems that arise when workers relocate between Japan and other countries.

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Hamamatsu is an industrial city in the western part of Shizuoka Prefecture in which a large number of foreign workers, especially Brazilian workers, are employed in the manufacturing field of transport machinery. As the 2006 and 2010 Hamamatsu surveys have indicated, migrant workers have faced unstable employment conditions. However, three Hamamatsu mayors have pursued multicultural community building policies, which can be classified as follows : dawn （1979―1999）, full―dress evolution （1999―2007） and developmental succession （2007― ）. The SWOT analysis is effective in explaining the multicultural situation in Hamamatsu. The strength of the policies lies in the presence of active NPOs as well as a loose network among the local government, the Board of Education, international associations, and universities. On the other hand, weakness can be observed in the insufficient participation by residents’ associations which have daily contact with migrants, and by companies which employ migrants directly or indirectly. In addition, the lack of collaboration among ethnic organizations can be regarded as another weakness. Xenophobia by Japanese citizens and migrants’ unstable working conditions undermine efforts at multicultural community building. However, the rise of second generation migrants who can link host and ethnic communities provides a hopeful opportunity.

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In 1955, when the high economic growth era began, self―employment （comprising self―employed workers and family workers） accounted for 57 percent of all employed persons. At the end of the high growth era in 1973, when the oil crisis struck Japan, self―employment accounted for only 31 percent of the work force. For the first time in its long history, Japan had become a society dominated by company―dependent employment. Despite the growing volume of research on the high economic growth era, this fact has been ignored completely. The principle of self―employment is different from that of company―based wage employment. The main aim of self―employment is to sustain the family, while the goal of companies is to obtain profits. This article analyzes the economic and social consequences of shrinking self―employment on Japanese capitalism.

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The existence of Japanese Employment Practices （JEPs） was recognized during 1945―54. The famous 1951 chart “Model of Labor Markets,” compiled by Shojiro Ujihara, depicted the labor market as segmented in three layers. The top layer was the “Large Factory Labor Market,” where JEPs （stable employment practices） existed for male regular employees, while the lowest layer was “Latent Rural and Urban Surplus―Population,” where the work force was subject to employment adjustment. Japan’s labor markets changed greatly in the periods of high and stable economic growth, the 36 years from 1955 to 1990. In those periods, the work force serving the function of employment adjustment changed from the workers in the “Latent Rural and Urban Surplus―Population” to non―regular employees employed in companies ; however, male regular employees in large companies continued to benefit from stable JEPs. Since the 1960s, maintenance of JEPs has relied upon non―regular employees, most of whom come from （stable） male breadwinner families. Since the 1960s, JEPs and male breadwinner families have been closely linked and mutually supportive. I call the resulting social system “Japan’s 1960’s System.” Since the 1990s, however, JEPs and “Japan’s 1960’s System” have steadily lost sustainability. Therefore, the final type of JEPs are those under “Japan’s 1960’s System.”

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It has been said that in recent years the cooperative management style of Japanese companies, the so-called “Japanese Management”, has undergone a transformation. While is it undeniable that various aspects of Japanese management have changed, it is not obvious that, at its core, “Japanese Management” has truly been transformed. Looking at relationships among employees at the level of individual firms, we do not see a clear shift away from the cooperative management style. The three papers in this section will therefore try to clarify this situation by focusing on two main phenomena that emerged in the 2000s : Corporate Social Responsibility （CSR） and Global Framework Agreements （GFA） between Japanese companies and labor unions.

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Japanese corporations and managers were once criticized for being “closed,” but in recent years, under “external pressure,” they have come to embrace Corporate Social Responsibility （CSR）. This study examines CSR in Japan and assesses whether equal consideration is given to all stakeholders. However, the epicenter of Japan’s CSR lies outside its borders. Given the global penetration of market fundamentalism, some socially adverse effects have occurred, and even international institutions have exhibited corporate behavioral principles. Nevertheless, CSR in Japan remains biased toward market fundamentalism. Although Japanese corporations still face difficulties in demonstrating strong social consciousness, improvement has been seen in industrial relations, where Japanese companies are becoming more open to CSR. This study focuses especially on recent corporate practices regarding the signing of Global Framework Agreements （GFA） with labor unions, domestic industrial trade unions, and international industrial trade unions. This investigation enables us to identify a pattern of progress in Japanese corporations’ social consciousness.

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This paper examines the factors that have shaped Global Framework Agreements （GFA） and the significance of the agreements. We take up the case of Volkswagen AG, which concluded a GFA 2002, to examine the relationship of GFAs to Corporate Social Responsibility （CSR）, and the implications for corporatism. We focus on global supply―chain manage- ment because the agreements were established by multinational automobile manufacturers and trade unions in Europe in order to protect frontline workers at suppliers and subcontractors.

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Since the 1990s, the economy has become increasingly globalized and companies have more frequently changed main production sites in order to reduce labor costs. This change has caused severe problems for corporate management since complex cross―border production processes and supply chains are difficult to manage. On the other hand, the last two decades have witnessed the emergence of Global Framework Agreements （GFA） between labor and management. A GFA is an agenda of action in which a company and a union cooperate to adhere to conditions in the eight International Labour Organization （ILO） core treaties. It is also a joint declaration of labor and management to address social responsibility and maintain decent work conditions. In Japan, there are only three such agreements, signed at Takashimaya, Mizuno, and AEON in 2007, 2011, and 2014, respectively. From these cases, we have identified three common objectives. First, GFAs are intended to benefit regular as well as non―regular workers. Second, they attempt to expand the level of social responsibility for supply chain management. Third, in response to global industrial relation conditions, they seek to disseminate Japan’s cooperative industrial relations practices when the nation’s firms set up operations overseas.

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As premised in Article 27 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified in February 2014 in Japan, it is necessary to ensure that reasonable accommodation is provided to persons with employment―related disabilities. This study examines obstacles to continuous employment for an individual with acquired visual impairment （IVD） through a case study of a lawsuit, and suggests possible remedies. The case study draws on the testimony of the plaintiff along with trial documents, confirming his claim that he was dismissed because of an acquired visual impairment. This case is compared to a similar trial case by analysis of trial and hearing documents and through an interview of the secretary of the association supporting the plaintiff. The following results were obtained : （1） Rehabilitation training can be effective in helping persons with IVD to maintain employment ; and （2） Support associations, which organize support for persons with disabilities, have weakened. In order to overcome these two problems, it is proposed that “rehabilitation rights” should be incorporated into laws for persons with disabilities.

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This study analyzes the relationship between the Mutual Aid Association of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Organization Employees （Nourin Nenkin） and human resource management in an agricultural cooperative in Japan. After World War II, many employees left agricultural cooperatives, and full pension benefits were implemented in part to reduce high turnover rates. Agricultural cooperatives petitioned for the establishment of Nourin Nenkin. They were closely supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which had strong long―term ties with cooperatives, even though many outside the industry were concerned that the establishment of Nourin Nenkin might lead to the segmentation of public pensions. This study demonstrates several key findings. First, employee turnover rates in agricultural cooperatives are indeed lower than in other industries. Second, Nourin Nenkin has provided few benefits because the cooperatives have low wages and contributions, while employee turnover rates continue to be high. Third, the cooperatives may have dismissed young female employees owing to the increased insurance rates for Nourin Nenkin. Finally, Nourin Nenkin has disrupted the restructuring of agricultural cooperatives since the 1990s.

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The purpose of this study is to examine the nature of co―production in new cooperatives, and to demonstrate that the cooperatives are efficient welfare service providers. Previous research has defined the concept of co―production as enhancement of the quality and/or quantity of services for users through voluntary efforts at public service provision by professionals and citizen users. This paper begins by analyzing the various concepts of co―production used by previous researchers and explains differences in acceptance of the concept in Western countries and Japan. Second, the paper depicts Swedish parent cooperative pre―schools as typical cases and Japanese health care and welfare cooperatives as new cases of co―production. Finally, this paper concludes that co―production is a service provision system in post―welfare states that realizes users’ sovereignty with support from professionals and governments.

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This study investigates the current conditions and issues of family care support projects in Japan, taking into consideration the recent reorganization of health and welfare policies for the elderly that aim to promote integrated community―based care, and focusing on the transformation of the role of municipalities. It focuses on a large metropolitan area （i. e., Tokyo） that is characterized by a rapidly aging population. By using the results of a questionnaire survey, the implementation of family care support in the city is analyzed. In particular, this study examines （i） the priority of family care support policies, （ii） the implementing body of a community general support center, and （iii） the expectation of self―help, mutual help, public support, and public assistance in order to verify the issues of family care support projects. We find that the expectation for self―help is relatively high in a large metropolitan area with a stable financial basis such as Tokyo. It is thus necessary to implement projects that support family caregivers directly, taking account of their independence. Therefore, learning from advanced countries is important from the viewpoint of the integration of caregivers into care systems.

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