Class Downgrading and Transformation of the Class Structure in Japan from 1945 to 2013
Before 1945, Japan had a very unequal income distribution, a sign that important class distinctions were present at the time. After the defeat of 1945, income disparities were cut drastically and there emerged a rather flat income pyramid. This situation lead many to define Japan as a large middle class society. However, inequalities increased markedly after the financial crisis of the 1990s and 2000s. Income disparities and class differences became clearer when large companies fired workers and lowered the number of young men recruited directly out of school. Unemployment and poverty increased, while those with the highest income kept on accumulating. Japan in 2013 now has income and class inequalities that resemble those that prevailed before 1945.