Employment of Elderly Workers in Japan: the Limits of the Current System and Assessment of the Conditions for the Emergence of a New Dynamics

This paper draws on current literature and data from interviews undertaken from 2014 to 2017 in Japanese service and manufacturing large companies. The objective is to examine the emerging patterns in the structure and direction of employment of the middle-aged (over 50) and older workers (over 60) categories of workers. The paper assesses the current situation in view of the demographic, economic, societal and institutional changes that occurred in Japan since the 1980s. It exposes the reasons why the traditional policies and practices that had made of Japan a country considered a success in the management of those categories of workers are now socially and economically unsustainable. Then, it analyses how large companies attempt to re-create a dynamic in the HRM system that would maintain and create decent jobs for the large and heterogeneous group of over 50 workers who are linked to them by employment relations of diverse nature. The paper explains the threats companies and workers face in an environment that imposes strong socioeconomic and institutional pressure and the opportunities that could also be created. It assesses the outcome of the companies’ initiatives, their merits and limits to optimize both the contribution to the organization and the workers’ employment conditions. Keywords: Elderly workers, career plateau, pension eligibility, social security system, workretirement practices.departmental bulletin pape