Changes of Unequal Structure of Stratification in Modern Japan

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The following findings were obtained as a result of the analyses to detect temporal changes of unequal opportunity in social mobility of Japanese society, distinguishing time, cohort, and age effects. The three points became clear by the analyses of logistic regression model and log linear model to estimate unequal opportunity (tendency of class inheritance). First, the tendency that unequal opportunity decreases as age increases was salient. Second, the sum of unequal opportunity which a society has as a whole has been reduced and equalized as a result of compounding changes by period effect and cohort effect. Third, intra-generational mobility has an effect to equalize unequal opportunity in inter-generational mobility, in several classes, especially self-employed classes.After all, unequal opportunities in mobility to entry class and in mobility to current class have carried out different temporal changes and have different factors to change, each other. In mobility to entry class, the sum of unequal opportunity was equalized by rapid decrease of farmer's inheritance according to cohort transition, and the distribution of people to classes was remarkably changed into one selected by educational credential from inheritance of father's class. The level of unequal opportunity in mobility to current class was reduced by age effect in comparison with that of mobility to entry class. This means that inter-generational mobility was equalized by intra-generational mobility. As for the result of analyses, unequal opportunity in social mobility of Japanese society showed changes equalized till the 1990s according to reduction of farmers, penetration of the distribution principle to entry class by educational credential, and the equalization effect by intra-generational mobility.