As this situation became evident, understanding of the “freeter” problem shifted from the attitudes of young people to employment difficulties. They too called themselves “freeters.” According to surveys taken in recent years, the number of those who are “freeters” in the original sense of the word occupies no more than 10-20% of all young people. Such people also referred to themselves as “freeters.” A third group consisted of young people who deferred choosing a profession because they were unsure what they wanted to do, also engaged in temporary work. However, after the recession began in the early 1990s, the number of young people who could not find permanent employment increased, and many were forced to accept temporary employment.
At first the problem of “freeters” was seen as a problem concerning a shift in young people’s attitude to work. Many of these hoped eventually to become professionals in the worlds of music or the theatre and the like. The term “freeter” was first coined in the late 1980s when the economy was booming, and it originally referred to young people who refused to become permanent employees, instead engaging in temporary or part time work. At the same time, there was a great increase in the number of young people who were engaged in unstable forms of employment, such as temporary or part time work, and who are known as “freeters.” The aim of this investigation is to gauge how the current discourse on Japan's “gap-widening society” is encoded in recent literature and films.Youth Employment in Japan’s Economic Recovery: ‘Freeters’ and ‘NEETs’įollowing the onset of Japan’s economic recession in the early 1990s, the number of company positions available for prospective high school and university graduates dramatically declined, and young Japanese ceased to enjoy the favorable situation, that had long prevailed in which the great majority of job seekers were able to become permanent employees of companies. In comparison, Tanada Yuki's Hyakuman-en to nigamushi onna, which was also published in 2008, depicts the contemporary social challenges of the much younger freeter generation upon graduating from university. This concern is especially evident in the film Tokyo Sonata directed by Kurosawa Kiyoshi in 2008, which depicts a family in crisis because of the traditional breadwinner losing his job. Special consideration is given to the plight of Japan's older working-class generations who are profoundly affected by the accelerating kakusa shakai trend of recent years. subsequent generation of Japanese has allegorically and symbolically represented the dramatic social changes they experienced through popular cultural media like film and manga.This article also examines how Japan's growing stratification is situated within the popular cultural media of recent films. Starting with the phenomenon of postwar economic growth, each. A recent revival of sociological terms like freeter and NEET in popular cultural media reflects an increasing concern with the rapidly changing social landscape in contemporary Japanese society. This article investigates the popular cultural implications of the “gap-widening society” (kakusa shakai) as identified by Yamada Masahiro.
The aim of this investigation is to gauge how the current discourse on Japan’s “gap-widening society” is encoded in recent literature and films. In comparison, Tanada Yuki’s Hyakuman-en to nigamushi onna, which was also published in 2008, depicts the contemporary social challenges of the much younger freeter generation upon graduating from university.
Special consideration is given to the plight of Japan’s older working-class generations who are profoundly affected by the accelerating kakusa shakai trend of recent years. This article also examines how Japan’s growing stratification is situated within the popular cultural media of recent films. Starting with the phenomenon of postwar economic growth, each subsequent generation of Japanese has allegorically and symbolically represented the dramatic social changes they experienced through popular cultural media like film and manga.