This book is a study of the Japanese employment system and how it is changing in response to the economic slowdown of the last decade and the aging of the Japanese population. It focusses on the growth of atypical employment relations and the greater individualization of labor-management relations. The labor markets for women, older workers and youth are given special treatment. Issues such as the rise in unemployment, the decline in the family enterprise, rising inequality, the decline of the labor force, and Japanese immigration policy are also addressed.