Sociological study into points of commonality between modern Japan's "disparity problem" and prewar Japan's "disparity problem"

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25380671
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Sociology
• Research Institution: Mie University
• Principal Investigator: NAGATANI Ken 三重大学, 人文学部, 教授 (50273305)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 近代日本 / 実業エリート / 格差 / 階層 / 高等遊民 / 労働問題

Outline of Final Research Achievements

By scrutinizing the social circumstances of prewar Japan, which included widening disparity in personal income, this study attempts to derive suggestions regarding the course of modern Japanese society. In the prewar era during and after the latter part of the Taisho period, difficulties for the middle class in earning a living, difficulty in finding employment for holders of higher education, and other such problems due to economic downturn were frequently discussed. The Great Kanto earthquake also exerted a major influence on social trends of thought. These matters have strong parallels to Japan's current circumstances. In particular, the words and actions of the wealthy and captains of major corporations in relation to these problems profoundly influenced the subsequent passage of history leading to the wartime system. In modern Japan as well, the words and deeds of such persons might potentially affect future social circumstances.

Free Research Field

社会学