Center on Disability Studies, University of Hawai'i at Manoa
Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability & Diversity
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Trend of Employment Style and Wage System for 
Persons with Disabilities in Japan 
Fumiko Tomita, M.S., Saitama Prefectural University, Saitama, Japan, tomita-
fumiko@spu.ac.jp
Jun Yaeda, Rh.D., University of Tsukuba, Tokyo, Japan
 
Recommended Citation
Fumiko, T., & Yaeda, J. (2020). Trend of Employment Style and Wage System for Persons with 
Disabilities in Japan. Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity Conference Proceedings. Honolulu, 
Hawai'i: Center on Disability Studies, University of Hawai'i at Manoa.
Licensed under CC BY 4.0. This article is brought to you for free and open access by the Center on 
Disability Studies, ISSN 2641-6115. 
Image Description: Creative Commons license CC-BY icon.

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Trend of Employment Style and Wage System for 
Persons with Disabilities in Japan 
Fumiko Tomita, M.S.
Saitama Prefectural University, Saitama, Japan
Jun Yaeda, Rh.D. 
University of Tsukuba, Tokyo, Japan 

Abstract: A case study of a Japanese special subsidiary small company was illustrated in 
relation to the traditional employment style and wage systems. Results found that the employees 
with disabilities received much lower wages, showed lower productivity, had less work duties 
and fewer job positions. 

Keywords: Employment Style; Wage System; Workers with Disabilities 
Knowledge Focus: Best Practices
Topic Area: Employment

Introduction 

      Approximately 38% of all Japanese workers are 'temporarily employees' whose jobs are 
relatively not secured enough to maintain for a long time. They are not the traditional 'lifetime 
employees,' whose jobs are much secured (Mitani & Oshio, 2012). Although many of the large 
private companies now hire more and more workers with disabilities, under the employment 
quota system in Japan, a great number of the workers with disabilities fall into the category of 
'temporarily employees,' see figure 1 (Yamada, 2015). Japanese traditional employment system 
also includes seniority-based wage system, that is, the longer they work, the better you get paid, 
which is not often the case for workers with disabilities (Baldwin & Johnson, 1994; Kidd et al., 
2000; Malo & Pagán, 2012; Nagae, 2014).

Figure 1. SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1 ?- Labor Market in Japan
Figure 1 Image Description: The figure 1 is a venn diagram with two big circles: The large circle 
shows "Typical employment, 42%, labour market of all workers" and "Atypical employment, 
38%." The small circle partially overlays the large circle representing the "labour market of 
workers with disability" as "atypical employment." 

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      Although Japanese employment quota system for workers with disabilities has shown to 
be effective for the increment of the number of competitive employees for the last 10 years 
consecutively, it does not necessarily mean that their employment status such as wages or 
positions also improves significantly (Nagano, 2014). Furthermore, providing reasonable 
accommodations at workplaces for workers with disabilities in Japan is now officially required 
by a new legislation as of 2018. However, reasonable accommodation itself would not solve the 
problem of their lower wages by limited working hours and job descriptions (Ishikawa, 2016; 
Yamamura, 2015).

      Special subsidiary small companies (SSSC) system is one of the effective employment 
strategies for private companies to hire individuals with disabilities in Japan. The number of 
employees with disabilities at SSSC is counted as 'hired' by its mother company, so that the 
mother company can satisfy the required quota rate, which is 2.3% of all the employees. The 
workers with disabilities at SSSC earn far better than those at conventional sheltered workshops, 
despite their similarities in the type of jobs and the nature of work contents.

      Little studies have compared the differences between SSSC and the conventional 
sheltered workshops in Japan, in terms of the type of jobs and the nature of work contents. The 
present study aimed at illustrating are some of the differences of employment styles and wage 
systems among workers with and without disabilities at a private company which has its own 
SSSC and comparing them with conventional sheltered workshops in Japan.

Methods 

      A semi-structured interview was conducted with the chief executive officer (CEO) of a 
SSSC (Company A) in November 2019. The Company A was established in September 2010 
and of the 17 employees, 10 employees have disabilities. The parent company of Company A 
runs a group home for the elderly. The interview guide included questions on the: 1) type of jobs, 
2) job responsibilities, 3) employment style, 4) wage systems, 5) number of workers with 
disabilities and without disabilities, and 6) the types of disabilities. The length of interview-time 
was about 120 minutes. The contents of the interview were recorded with permission by the 
interviewees. The interview texts were analyzed by the present authors.

Results 

Type of Jobs and Job Responsibilities 
      The Company A manages both its administration and the work support of the employees 
with disabilities. One of the major job responsibilities of workers with physical or psychiatric 
disabilities include general affairs, printing, and personal computer (PC) setup, while that of 
workers with intellectual disabilities includes sweeping the group home. However, a sweeping 
job is not so productive, so that job was shifted to working at a conventional sheltered workshop 
in Japan. The so-called "Type A of Continuous Employment Support Center" that has a certain 
employment contract.

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Employment Style
      While the typical employees work 8-hours a day and the atypical employees work less 
than 8 hours, there are two employees with physical disabilities who are hired as typical 
employees. Results of the interview with the CEO of Company A derived five determining 
elements to hire individuals. They were the employee's specialty, judgment ability, fungibility, 
basic understanding with the company, and job proficiency.

Wage System
      Wages of workers are decided based on the personnel evaluation. In the case of the 
typical employment, it is basically a monthly salary, and their salaries are stable regardless of the 
absence from work. Compared to that, in the case of atypical employment, their wage is based on 
hourly wages and their minimum wages may not improve significantly like other employees 
without disabilities. The employees with disabilities at the sheltered workshop under-
management by Company A, have no bonus at all, while other workers without disabilities who 
PSW at Company A receive as high as $4,330. The Table 1 below shows such comparisons.

Table 1. SEQ Table \* ARABIC 1 ?- A Comparison of Job, Occupation, and Number of 
Workers Between SSSC and Conventional Sheltered Workshops in Japan
Table 1 Image Description: Table 1 compares two groups: SSSC and Conventional 
Sheltered Workshops; and shows the type of job (general affairs and sweeping); 
occupation (works with/without disabilities and occupation types); number of 
workers (ranging between 1-33); and bonus (ranging between N/A, $0-4,330).

      While workers without disabilities whose job is general affairs receive 4,330 USD, 
workers without disabilities whose job is sweeping at conventional sheltered workshops receive 

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2,730 USD. In contrast, workers with disabilities at SSSC receive 2,120 USD, the workers with 
disabilities at conventional sheltered workshops receive no bonus, 0 USD.

Discussion 

      Although Company A is one of the leading private companies in Japan that hire many 
people with disabilities, the traditional productivity-based employment system may not meet the 
needs of workers with disabilities. Typical Japanese may still have lower expectations towards 
employing individuals with disabilities.

      New graduates without disabilities tend to be hired even if they do not satisfy the 
determining elements for employment, which were the employee's specialty, judgment ability, 
fungibility, basic understanding with the company, and job proficiency. Japanese private 
companies must provide more equal employment opportunities and provide decent work with 
people with disabilities. Workers with disabilities should be more proactive to exercise their 
rights to work.

Authors

Fumiko Tomita, M.S. Saitama Prefectural University Fumiko Tomita is an assistant professor 
of the Department of Social Work and Child Science at Saitama Prefectural University in Japan. 
She used to work as a social worker at a public institution in Tokyo. Her research interests 
include: fair labor market, wage system, and competitive employment for workers with 
disabilities. 
Image Description: Photo of Fumiko Tomita

Jun Yaeda, Rh.D, is an associate professor at Rehabilitation Course, University of Tsukuba, 
Tokyo, Japan. His research interests include: rehabilitation philosophy, vocational rehabilitation 
counseling, and international rehabilitation education. 
Image Description: Photo of Jun Yaeda

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