Book excerpt: This book provides a comprehensive overview of Japanese labour market institutions and practices with respect to employment issues and labour payments. It contains extensive discussion of the effects of industrial relations, small business activity, business cycles and schooling on work and pay. An early chapter is devoted to presenting, in an accessible manner, essential labour market ideas and concepts that recur throughout the text. Important topics covered include (i) unions and wage determination, (ii) the breakdown of total labour costs, (iii) the Japanese bonus system, (iv) the employment life-cycle, (v) small businesses and subcontracting, (vi) pay and productivity over the business cycle. A key feature is that subject areas and themes are examined within a comparative United States/European framework. This allows assessments of whether or not the structure and performance of the Japanese labour market has differed from experience elsewhere.