Work and pay in Japan have been subjects of considerable interest among students of comparative international labour markets. There are two main interrelated explanations of this. First, important aspects of the Japanese labour market appear to differ significantly from experience elsewhere. Examples include the structure of the union system, the size and coverage of bonus payments, lengths of wage and employment contracts, the age of official retirement and the importance of subcontracting. Secondly, the Japanese labour market has appeared to perform somewhat differently from those of its main competitor economies during the post-war period. Among other features, it has generally experienced more employment stability, lower unemployment and greater wage flexibility.

We have attempted in this book to provide a more comprehensive coverage of these and related issues than has hitherto been available under a single cover. Further, for most topics, we provide considerably more depth of empirical and analytical coverage than can be found in existing texts. Not only do we examine the main features of employment and payment systems in Japan but, throughout the book, we also provide background details of related European and United States evidence and experience. Moreover, we extend the definition of ‘pay’ to include non-wage labour costs that do not constitute direct remuneration but, nevertheless, are necessarily incurred by the employment of labour.

We have purposely written the book in a non-technical way so as to appeal to a readership whose interests stretch well beyond the confines of labour market economics.