On Origins of Japanese Style of Management and Industrial Relations in Japanese Automobile Manufacturers

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K02018
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 08010:Sociology-related
• Research Institution: Ritsumeikan University
• Principal Investigator: YOSHIDA Makoto 立命館大学, 産業社会学部, 教授 (90275016)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 先任権 / 日本的経営の起源 / 年功 / 労働組合 / 産業報国会

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this research project, I made discovery of two historical facts. The first is that GHQ tried to transfer "seniority rules" in industrial relations of U.S. into those of Japan around 1950 when massive dismiss would occurred. Japanese management accepted this and some companies made their personnel reduction criteria with an article that "those with shorter service" should be dismissed. It shows the possibility that the later discovery of "lifetime employment" and "nenko-based order" was related to seniority rules from USA. For, without the seniority clause, more elder workers with longer length of service would have dismissed. The second is that although the labor union at Nissan in early times showed continuity with the wartime Sangyo Hokokukai, and had very moderate policies, it gradually became independent from the company and had more aggressive policies against the company.

Free Research Field

産業社会学、労働社会学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

ドッジ・ライン期にGHQによって米国の先任権が日本の労使に推奨され、日本の経営側がそれを一旦は受けいれたことに関する系統的な研究はなく、忘れさられた歴史となっていた。その後1950年代半ばに日本の雇用の特徴として「終身雇用」や「年功的秩序」が発見されたが、ドッジ・ライン下において長期勤続の中高年男性の雇用が守られていなければ、こうした発見はなかったであろう。彼らの雇用を守ったのが米国由来の先任権であり、それが終身雇用や年功的秩序の発見につながったとすれば、終身雇用や年功の概念が本当に日本的なものなのかどうかを再検討する必要が出てきたのである。