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Stability and Fluidization of the Social Stratification System in Contemporary Japan
ENS
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48 boulevard Jourdan
- 75014 PARIS
Monsieur Yoshimichi Sato de Tohoku University (Japon), invité par Serge PAUGAM, directeur d'Etudes à l'EHESS, fera une conférence dans le cadre de son séjour au sein de l'ERIS du Centre Maurice Halbwachs le mardi 9 février 2010 de 10h à 12h dans la grande salle à l'ENS 48 boulevard Jourdan 75014 Paris.
This article shows how two seemingly contradictory concepts about social stratification in contemporary Japan—“fluidization” and “stabilization”—can be understood and explained in a coherent way. A classic example of “fluidization” is an increase in non-regular workers, while that of “stabilization” is an increase in the rigidity of intergenerational social mobility of a particular stratum. We hypothesize that the fluidization has not necessarily occurred at all strata; some strata have still been under the umbrella of protective institutions, while other strata have been being involved in the rapidly increasing fluidity. We argue that this hypothesis is generally supported by examining empirical findings made in the 2005 Social Stratification and Social Mobility Project. In the concluding section we consider implications of the co-existence of “stability” of particular parts in social stratification and “fluidization” in the study of social stratification.
This article shows how two seemingly contradictory concepts about social stratification in contemporary Japan—“fluidization” and “stabilization”—can be understood and explained in a coherent way. A classic example of “fluidization” is an increase in non-regular workers, while that of “stabilization” is an increase in the rigidity of intergenerational social mobility of a particular stratum. We hypothesize that the fluidization has not necessarily occurred at all strata; some strata have still been under the umbrella of protective institutions, while other strata have been being involved in the rapidly increasing fluidity. We argue that this hypothesis is generally supported by examining empirical findings made in the 2005 Social Stratification and Social Mobility Project. In the concluding section we consider implications of the co-existence of “stability” of particular parts in social stratification and “fluidization” in the study of social stratification.