"Nippon Gata Kakusa Shakai" Kara No Dakkyaku (Kobunsha Shinsho)

[Machine Translation] Since the 1990s, inequality has continued to widen in Japan. For example, the increase in the number of non-regular employees has led to a wage gap, which in turn has contributed to the disparity among their children's generation. Furthermore, the pension system, which lowers the amount of benefits each generation receives, causes not only an intergenerational gap of up to 600 million yen or more, but also an intra-generational gap among the children and grandchildren who will inherit the system. Income redistribution policies are biased toward social security for the elderly and have done little to reduce disparities among the working-age population. All of these disparities are rooted in long-term deflation, which Japan is the only country in the world to have experienced since the end of World War II, and in this sense, they are characteristic disparities that are different from those of other countries ("Japanese-style disparities"). So what can be done to narrow this gap and restore growth? In this book, the author, who served as Deputy Governor of the Bank of Japan, proposes specific policies and suggestions. He seeks a future for Japan that is easier to live in.

一九九〇年代以降、日本では格差が広がり続けている。例えば、非正規社員の増加は賃金格差を招き、ひいてはその子供世代の格差も助長している。さらに、世代ごとに受給額が下がる年金制度は、最大六〇〇〇万円超の世代間格差のみならず、相続する子供・孫世代の世代内格差の原因に。所得再分配政策は、高齢者への社会保障に偏っており、現役世代の格差縮小にはほとんど寄与していない。そして、こうした格差はすべて、戦後、世界で日本しか経験していない長期デフレが根本にあり、そういった意味で他国とは異なる「日本型格差」といえる特徴的な格差である。では、この「日本型格差」を縮小し、成長を取り戻すにはどうすればよいのか―。本書では、日銀副総裁を務めた著者が具体的な政策とともに提言。より生きやすい日本の未来を模索する。