Employing a diverse range of quantitative and qualitative methodologies, this book offers a complex examination of the changing nature of social stratification and its subsequent impact on inequality in contemporary Japan. The book opens with a theoretical discussion of social stratification and inequality. It then expands on these ideas with several case studies examining issues such as migration, class identification, employment practices, social structures, and status homogamy. In the last few chapters, the book contextualizes the Japanese examples with international comparisons. Overall, the book offers a unique glimpse at some of the emerging concerns and changes occurring in Japanese society.

About Editors and Authors

SATO Yoshimichi is a Japanese sociologist and Professor in the Graduate School of Arts and Letters, Tohoku University. He specializes in sociology, behavioral science and mathematical sociology. After completing a PhD at the Graduate School of Sociology, University of Tokyo, he served as Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Commerce, Yokohama City University, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Arts and Letters, Tohoku University, and Visiting Scholar in the Faculty of Sociology, University of Chicago, and at Cornell University. His research interests include social hierarchy, social stratification and mechanisms that generate inequality.