This report presents a participant observational study of employees in Japanese startups by examining a startup where the author has been working, exploring its negotiations with the Japanese economic market system in the context of collapsing lifetime employment, and thereafter articulating the precarious lifestyle in Japan. Through a reciprocal analysis of employees’ perspectives and the Japanese cultural background, this report shows that startup entrepreneurs face a bilateral situation—while startups embody the enhancement of full autonomy and self-sufficiency, the traditional manner of lifetime employment still exists, even within this context.
This report positions startups as actors executing “the soul in strike,” as stated by Allison, thus resisting their precarious employment status. By considering startups as part of the broader Japanese employment system, this report advocates for more pluralistic recognition of the challenges facing the Japanese workforce. The Japanese government has been encouraging an increase in startups to overcome the “lost 30 years” of Japan. However, this report cautions that this is not simply an innovative and optimistic situation. The risk-loving attitude—as a pillar of most startups—must find its practical resolution within a complicated social context, in which existing companies and society are sometimes still excessively risk-averse. This can be attributed, in part, to the Japanese management and socio-cultural conventions. These are compatible with the theme of this panel, which is “precarious lifestyle,” considering the viewpoint that people are forced to take a conservative position owing to the current societal situation in Japan. This mutually cultivates the excessive risk-averse attitude of existing companies.
This report sheds light on the challenges facing startups in Japan. It underscores the need for more comprehensive and innovative solutions to address the precarious nature of employment in this context.
