Low-Level Work in Japan without Foreign Workers

Abstract

This article explores how the Japanese have avoided dependence on foreign labor for low skill, and low status employment. Findings suggest that the demand for low-level work remains strong; but is met with native labor, by drawing upon still-plentiful labor reserves, together with integrating low-level work into the whole occupational structure and social value system. Contracting out certain services to specialized firms is one Japanese institution that might be emulated on a wide scale in the West.