Shibata, S. orcid.org/0000-0002-5944-9721 and Lechevalier, S. (2025) Hampered digitalization: institutional failure and new instability in Japan. The Japanese Political Economy. ISSN: 2329-194X
Abstract
This article examines how business, labor, and the state have adapted to digitalization, highlighting the critical role of national institutions in shaping how societies experience this global shift. By drawing on Régulation Theory and considering the case of Japan, this article analyzes the interplay between competition, wage-labor relations, and the state. The paper argues that Japan’s response to digitalization has reinforced neoliberal restructuring without establishing a new mode of regulation (which would require the reconciliation of the competing interests of labor, capital, and the state). Digitalization has intensified competition, placing downward pressure on wages and exacerbating skills shortages while also creating a digital divide between large firms and SMEs. The existing low-wage problem has been exacerbated by rising investment in technological upgrades without commensurate wage increases. Finaly, the Japanese state’s failure to effectively coordinate labor market policies with digitalization efforts has exacerbated existing inequalities and hindered the development of a stable regulatory framework. Consequently, instead of reconciling the competing interests of labor, capital, and the state, current institutional adjustments to digitalization in Japan have generated further instabilities, hindering the realization of any growth potential.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2025 The Author(s). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. |
Keywords: | Digitalization; Japan; régulation; theory; work and skill; factory automation |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > School of East Asian Studies (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 06 Aug 2025 15:01 |
Last Modified: | 06 Aug 2025 15:01 |
Status: | Published online |
Publisher: | Informa UK Limited |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/2329194x.2025.2530955 |
Related URLs: | |
Sustainable Development Goals: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:230142 |
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