David Chiavacci is Mercator Professor of Social Science of Japan at the University of Zürich, Switzerland.

Carola Hommerich is Associate Professor of Sociology at Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.

Introduction

1. After the Banquet: Economic and Demographic Stagnation since the 1990s

Creation of Inequality and Its Perception in Japan

2. Institutions and Actors in the Creation of Social Inequality: A Rational Choice Approach to Social Inequality
3. The Gap as Threat: Status Anxiety in the 'Middle')

Labour Market and Employment System

4. The "Re-segmentation" of the Japanese Labour Market: Investigating the Impact of Industrial Dynamics
5. Does Employment Dualisation Lead to Political Polarisation? Assessing the Impact of Labour Market Inequalities on Political Discourse in Japan
6. Are Labour Union Movements Capable of Solving the Problems of the 'Gap Society'?

Welfare State and Family

7. Economic Inequality among Families with Small Children in Japan: Who Provides Welfare to Children?
8. Social Policy Responses to the 'Gap Society': The Structural Limitations of the Japanese Welfare State and Related Official Discourses since the 1990s
9. The Old and New Welfare Politics in Japan: Persisting Obstacles for Reform

Education and Social Mobility

10. Understanding Structural Changes in Inequality in Japanese Education: From Selection to Choice
11. Political Discourse and Education Reforms concerning "Equality of Educational Opportunity"
12. Trying to Reduce Inequalities in School: The Academic Discourse and the Concept of 'Effective Schools'

Urban-Rural Divide

13. The Urban-Rural Divide in Japan: A Matter of Social Inequality?
14. Public and Political Discourse on Socio-Spatial Inequality in Japan
15. Understanding the Dynamics of Regional Growth and Shrinkage in 21st Century Japan: Towards the Achievement of an Asian-Pacific 'Depopulation Dividend'

New Immigration and Ethnic Minorities

16. Migration and Integration Patterns of New Immigrants in Japan: Diverse Structures of Inequality
17. The "Multicultural Coexistence" Discourse in Crisis? Public Discourse on Immigrant Integration in the Gap Society
18. Understanding the Gaps Between Immigrant Economic Outcomes: Strategic Action and Meaning Making among Newcomer Immigrants in Japan

Conclusion

19. Reassembling the Pieces: The Big Picture of Inequality in Japan