In the last decade, Japan has seen a sharp increase in labour migrants and research shows these migrants don’t always integrate easily and are often the subject of discrimination. Research on...Show moreIn the last decade, Japan has seen a sharp increase in labour migrants and research shows these migrants don’t always integrate easily and are often the subject of discrimination. Research on migrants, however, has mostly focussed on either the barriers to integration on the work floor or on the policies of the government, without focus on integration. This thesis links these two important research bodies, by studying immigration policy in relation to integration on the work floor. Using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and a case study of the recent amendments of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition act, it studies the attention given to the topics of labour, national security and human security. Results show that even though the government its policies play a key role in integration, the act holds little attention to the social aspect of integration. This social aspect consists of preventing discrimination and creating mutual understanding between Japanese citizens and migrants. Analysis shows that even though more labour opportunities to enter Japan were created in the amendments in 2014 and in 2018, migrants taking those opportunities (HSM, Technical Intern Trainees, SSW and health & care workers) still have difficulty integrating in Japan.Show less
This thesis examines the relationship of neoliberal policies and growing inequality in the Japanese labour market after the bubble burst in early 1990’s. The purpose of this research is to...Show moreThis thesis examines the relationship of neoliberal policies and growing inequality in the Japanese labour market after the bubble burst in early 1990’s. The purpose of this research is to determine whether labour inequality levels have risen as a result of the neoliberal agendas that the government of Japan has adopted over the past few decades. The policies and the agendas of four Prime Ministers will be discussed: Yasuhiro Nakasone (pre-bubble burst), Ryutaro Hashimoto (post-bubble burst and during Asian crisis), Junichiro Koizumi (pre-financial crisis) and Shinzo Abe (post-financial crisis). This research demonstrates that certain aspects of labour inequality have been altered using process tracing in a multi-disciplinary approach consisting of both qualitative and qualitative sources to analyze the outcomes of these policy measures. The theoretical and empirical analysis showcase that, whilst the transformation of the Japanese economic model has not been linear, there is a gradual neoliberal progress in the labour sector reflected by the continuous deregulation schemes that the administrations have chosen to pursue. The Japanese labour institutions and, therefore, the Japanese social contract have been considerably transformed as part of the neoliberal reforms.Show less
This research has identified relevant financial reforms in Japan and its effects on vertical keiretsu networks. It utilized a literature review to investigate vertical keiretsu networks, financial...Show moreThis research has identified relevant financial reforms in Japan and its effects on vertical keiretsu networks. It utilized a literature review to investigate vertical keiretsu networks, financial deregulation, and keiretsu networks’ contemporary relevance. Moreover, it utilized three different case studies focused on 1) foreign direct investment, 2) changing corporate finance methods, and 3) vertical keiretsu networks. The results show that especially financial deregulations in the period ’96–’06 have affected Japan’s financial markets and vertical keiretsu networks. It demonstrated how the financial reforms have increased foreign direct investment and diminished the role of Japan’s banking industry. It demonstrated that successful vertical keiretsu networks such as Toyota and Honda continue to pursue strong buyer-supplier relationships in the form of cross-shareholding, while at the same time they adopted a market-based global sourcing strategy and utilized the international financial markets. Financial deregulation increased keiretsu networks’ foreign ownership ratios, affected their intra-network cross-shareholding, and led all ‘parent’ firms to adopt market-based purchasing strategies. Therefore, the research claims that financial deregulation forced vertical keiretsu networks to change their ways by ‘hybridizing’ their business model, and that the networks seem to continue to exist as a relevant form of industrial organization in Japan, despite its drastically changing economic landscape.Show less
