
Freeter japan free#
After all, for each man giving up his role of provider and living a modest life within his means, leaves one corresponding woman free and empowered to take the kind of employment that would have otherwise supposedly been denied to her. Since the government of Japan assumes this is so, it is curious why they consider the male-dominated group of freeters and the soushoku danshi as dangerous to the economic health of the nation. The changes regarding gender to the law were premised on the notion of discrimination against women, which was viewed wrong based on the premise that women are just as capable of men in the workplace.

In other words, once the social standard of "the family unit" is rejected by men, men are freed from the stress of the social role of "provider" which is a major cause of Karōshi.Ĭonsidering recent changes to Japanese_employment_law the actions of men in particular to become freeters seems quite rational. While some may simply get lumped into the "drop-out" category, it is likely that most freeters are qualified to enter other employment it is just that those other occupations fail the individuals cost/benefit analysis when it comes to judging the stress and duties of whatever prospective career. So the choice to avoid, for example the expected unpaid overtime hours of being a salaryman is for many of these men, simply a manifestation of taking responsibility for their own life, and their own life only. Indeed, part of the motivation to become a freeter is the fact that individuals, men in particular like the soushoku danshi, have no desire whatsoever to start a family, maintain romatic relationships, or to have financial obligations to others beyond their own choosing. They feel no obligation to satisfy a social construct which they may view as something thrust upon them as a duty, outside of their own volition and chosen values. Since they only need to take responsibility for themselves, their choice to take modest salaries reflects this expectation. What is more likely is that many assume a freeter lifestyle *because* they don't have desire to "start a family" or assume traditionally expected social roles. To elaborate, the statement assumes a desire (in this case "to start a family") on the part of freeters that they may not have.

Why is "starting a family" given a greater weight of expectation than any other choice an individual could make? If it is acceptable to make this statement, one must also include such statements as "The low income makes it difficult for freeters to buy Lamborginis" or "The low income makes it difficult for freeters to afford to eat watermelon every day.". Without a source, the statement injects bias. This statement is made from of a particular worldview about social units and their appropriateness relative to the individual. Providing a fascinating alternative to the stereotypical idea of the Japanese male as a salaryman, this book will be of huge interest to students and scholars of Japanese culture and society, social and cultural anthropology, gender and men's studies."The low income makes it difficult for freeters to start a family". Highlighting the continuing importance of productivity and labour in understandings of masculinities, it argues that men experience and practice multiple masculinities which are often contradictory, sometimes limiting, and change as they age and in interaction with others, and with social structures, institutions, and expectations. It queries how notions of adulthood and masculinity are interwoven and how these ideals are changing in the face of large-scale employment shifts. This book, drawing on six years of ethnographic research, takes the lives of male freeters as a lens to examine contemporary ideas and experiences of adult masculinities.

Within this context, "freeters", part-time workers aged between fifteen and thirty-four who are not housewives or students, emerged into the public arena as a social problem. Over the past two decades, Japan’s socioeconomic environment has undergone considerable changes prompted by both a long recession and the relaxation of particular labour laws in the 1990s and 2000s.
