From Precarity to Contestation
This chapter highlights the key trends in Japan's labor movement as they have developed in the form of social conflict and protest, drawing on an original data set of protest events in Japan. The data set charts the type of actor, form of protest, and target of the protest for each reported event. These events are a sample taken from key periods in the transformation of Japan's political economy. The findings are used to consider the changing trends in worker-led protest throughout the period of neoliberalization. The results identify heightened contestation, with reported events undertaken increasingly by precarious and nonregular workers using different methods of protest. Ultimately, precarious workers have become increasingly mobilized, contributing to an increased frequency of protests and a greater proclivity toward more confrontational forms of protest activity.