Long-term Employment in Japan: Past and Present.

Autor/inn/en	Kambayashi, Ryo; Kato, Takao
Institution	Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research
Titel	Long-term Employment in Japan: Past and Present. Gefälligkeitsübersetzung: Langfristige Beschäftigung in Japan: Vergangenheit und Gegenwart.
Quelle	Esch-sur-Alzette (2026), 31 S. PDF als Volltext Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Reihe	IZA discussion paper / IZA Network @ LISER. 18665
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; Monografie
DOI	10.1007/s42973-026-00266-4
Schlagwörter	Arbeitszeitverlängerung; Arbeitsplatzwechsel; Lebensarbeitszeit; Qualifikation; Betriebszugehörigkeit; Dauer; Arbeitspapier; Auswirkung; Entwicklung; Geschlechtsspezifik; Hochschulabsolvent; Abhängig Beschäftigter; Berufsanfänger; Mitarbeiter; Älterer Arbeitnehmer; Japan
Abstract	"This paper revisits long-term employment practices in Japan and provides new evidence on their evolution over 1982-2022, extending prior work to cover the most recent decades marked by the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic. Using microdata from the Employment Status Survey, we estimate 10-year job retention rates by gender and educational attainment. Contrary to the widespread view that Japan's long-term employment system has eroded since the 1990s, we find that job retention rates have remained highly stable over the past four decades. In particular, prime-age workers with at least five years of tenure ("core employees ") continue to exhibit consistently high retention rates, even duringmajor economic shocks. Although job stability among young entry-level workers, especially college graduates, has declined significantly, cohort analysis shows that this early-career instability does not persist. Most workers eventually transition into stable, long-term employment relationships as they age. We also find no evidence of a decline in the overall share of core employees, although younger male cohorts exhibit temporary delays in accumulating long tenure. In addition, mandatory retirement age extensions have contributed to higher job retention among older workers. Overall, our findings point to the resilience of Japan's long-term employment system and suggest that policy discussions should be grounded in its continued empirical relevance." The study refers to the period 1982-2022 (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku).
Erfasst von	Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, Nürnberg
Update	2026/4