Amazon.com description: Product Description: This volume explains the salient features of the Japanese labour market. The key idea in this book is integrated segmentation. Emphasis is upon segmentation: on the demand side, within the educational system and, on supply side, monitoring costs which underlie labour contracts. Using long run official government statistical evidence, it is argued that what is peculiar to Japan is the integration of segmented labour markets. By virtue of segmentation the Japanese labour market is deeply competitive. By virtue of integration it is highly cooperative.