Make Sure of Economic Growth

The benefits of economic improvement have not trickled down to workers, while additional concerns are being raised about expanding income disparities. An annual white paper released Friday by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry tells the story:

White paper warns over wages / Says more corporate earnings should be distributed through pay hikes
The Yomiuri Shimbun
The white paper, analyzing labor-related economic issues, considers it problematic that healthy corporate performance did not result in corresponding wage rises.

.....The findings recognized a continued improvement in the employment situation. However, the report also raised concerns over income disparities.
According to the report, consumption by the average working household is not robust enough, while the findings on how households spend money on items such as education and housing show increasingly diverging spending patterns depending on income.

The paper came up with three main reasons for the expanding spending gaps:
-- An increasing number of lowly paid workers in nonregular employment.
-- Income gaps among those engaged in regular employment due to the introduction of performance-based pay and similar systems.
-- The advancing polarization of long and short working hours due to the expansion of the discretionary working-hour system.

.....Noting the considerable changes in society, the paper said it was inevitable the unfair distribution of economic growth would be subject to a drastic review.
As for long working hours, the report also pointed out that due to the spread of the self-governing working style, it has become more difficult for companies to figure out the work their employees are doing, resulting in certain people working longer hours. (Aug. 4, 2007)

In Japan it is said that the income gap is being widened among workers. As in the US, many Japanese people are afraid that Japan will become an inequal society. The above report says such a thing for many of them. Thought the report makes it clear why the benefit of economic growth doesn't seem to widespread among the workers, I think there exists another reason for it. But I don't know about it.