Share of employees in non-permanent employment Japan 2003-2023, by gender

As of 2023, more than half of all female employees in Japan were working in non-regular employment, compared to approximately 23 percent of men. The share of men in non-permanent employment increased by nearly seven percent in the last two decades.

Non-regular employment

When compared among age groups, the percentage of those in non-regular employment was lower among younger age cohorts, while the share among those aged 65 years and older was about 77 percent in 2023. There are several forms of non-permanent employment in Japan: part-time workers, temporary full-time and part-time workers, and dispatched full-time and part-time workers from temporary labor agencies, among others. In 2023, the majority of the non-regular employees in the nation were working on a part-time basis.

Regulations

Depending on the qualifications and the contract, the employment falls under different regulations such as Labor Contract Act, Part-time Employment Act, and Act for Securing the Proper Operation of Worker Dispatching Undertakings and Improved Working Conditions for Dispatched Workers. These regulations have been amended several times following the diversification of work contracts in the past decades. The wage gap between permanent and non-permanent workers, for example, has been addressed as one of the main issues in recent years. From 2020 onwards, employers are required to pay the equivalent amount to non-permanent workers when they engage in the same tasks as permanent workers.