Tuesday 9 September 2003
6:00pm – 8:00pm
Women and the Labour Market in Japan's Industrialising Economy: The Textile Industry before the Pacific War
Daiwa Foundation Japan House
Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation
By Janet Hunter
Published by Routledge
During the period of industrialisation in Japan from the 1870s to the 1930s, the textile industry was Japan’s largest manufacturing industry, and the country’s major source of export earnings. It had a predominantly female labour force, drawn mainly from the agricultural population.
This book examines the institutions of the labour market of this critical industry during this important period for Japanese economic development. Based on extensive original research, the book provides a wealth of detail, showing amongst other things the complexity of the labour market, the interdependence of the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, and the importance of gender. It argues that the labour market institutions which developed in this period had a profound effect on the labour market and labour relations in the post-war years.
About the contributors
Dr Janet Hunter
Dr Janet Hunter is the Saji Senior Lecturer in Japanese Economics and Social History at LSE and President of British Association of Japanese Studies (BAJS). She has written widely on the economic and social development of modern Japan, most recently as joint editor of ‘The History of Anglo-Japanese Relations, 1600-2000 Vol. 4: Economics and Business Relations’ (Palgrave, 2002).
Dr Penelope Francks
The book launch was chaired by Dr Penelope Francks, Senior Lecturer in the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Leeds. Dr Francks specialises in Japanese economy and economic history, in particular their relevance to developmental theory and practice. She is the co- author of ‘Agriculture and Economic Development in East Asia: From Growth to Protectionism in Japan, Korea and Taiwan’ (Routledge, 1999), the research for which was part of The Pacific Asia Programme funded by the ESRC.