Gelernte Karriere: Bildung und Berufsverlauf in Japan (Education and Employment Career in Japan)

The papers collected in this volume are based on the fields of expertise which Japanese and German researchers presented at the conference “Education and Employment Career in Japan,” which was held at the German Institute of Japanese Studies, Tokyo, in October 1993. The articles are grouped into four parts by subject matter: “From the Educational System to Gainful Employment: Transitions and Structural Changes,” “Company-Internal Qualification,” “Educational Leaving Degrees and Course of Career” and “Women’s Employment Prospects and Career.” The introductory contributions preceding each part examine the situation and the discussion of this connection in Japan against the background of German experiences. The results of the seventeen articles show that employment career is determined by many more factors than the usually cited principles of lifelong employment coupled with promotion and payment according to seniority. They further show that differentiated and multicausal approaches to interpretation are vital in order to better understand Japan’s success.