Abstract

Dispatched workers refer to a newly legalised and fast-growing category of non-regular or atypical labour force in post-bubble Japan, who are involved in temporary agency work. TAW is distinguished from other traditional types of non-regular employment due largely to a triangular structure; while being typically employed by employment agencies, workers are dispatched to work at the facilities of and under the authority of client firms. Although remaining a fairly small percentage of the total workforce, dispatched workers have recently received considerable attention in political debate pertaining to two most noticeable by-products of neoliberalism: labour market flexibility and social divide or ‘widening gaps’. By examining closely the ongoing debate and drawing on anthropological approaches to discourse analysis, this article aims to show the wide implications of Japan's shifting employment landscape against the backdrop of globalisation, as well as power asymmetry and contestation inherent in the discursive process.