Japan: Rising level of inequality (Tachibanaki Toshiaki)

"There are a number of factors contributing to the increasing inequality, including the aging of the population, the shift in compensation systems toward merit.based and performance-based pay, the increase in the number of unemployed and low-paid employees as a result of prolonged economic stagnation, and the impact of the government's tax and social welfare policies. But the most important underlaying factor is this country's embrace of American-style economic liberalism."
(Tachibanaki Toshiaki: The Rising Tide of Poverty in Japan. In: Japan Echo 10/2005, p.47. Translated from "Jakusha no hinkonka ga kakusa o jocho shite iru", Ronza, June 2005, pp. 102-107).