Industrial Economy and Human Rights Problems
- Present Conditions of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises of Buraku and Tasks through Investigations into the Actual Conditions
Mitsuru Tanaka
Professor of Industrial Economics
Faculty of Economics at Kansai University, Osaka, Japan
(Continued from Buraku Liberation News No.120)
III. Actual Economic and Industrial Conditions of Dowa Districts
A number of surveys have been conducted by a number of different organisations into the actual conditions of Dowa industries. These have included the aforementioned "Recommendations of the Cabinet Dowa Policy Council"; the "Current Status of Dowa Measures" of the Office of the Prime Minister; the "Basic Investigation into Employment Structure", which was prepared by the Management and Coordination Agency for the purpose of reviewing Dowa measures programmes every five years after the enforcement of "the Law on Special Measures for Dowa Projects" and for promoting wider public recognition and understanding of the Dowa issue; those conducted by local governments; those conducted by Buraku-related organisations and institutions, especially industrial associations; and those conducted by researchers and research institutions.
It is clear that these surveys have had a common ultimate goal: to advocate policies and programmes for the development and maintenance of Buraku industries and enterprises through conduction of surveys and analysis of the associated findings. There is a common problem with the findings, however, in that the analysis used is very limited and there has been over-dependence on the statistics collected by these surveys. Tachibanaki questions whether or not we can actually understand the actual conditions of Dowa areas through this data. He states that the data is "usually collected by government agencies or independent researchers [so the question must be asked:] do collected samples appropriately represent the entire community?" 14
It is also true that there have been fundamental problems with the basic methodology used in conducting these kinds of surveys. Tachibanaki says, "To solve this, the samples must be collected in such a way that the whole can be evenly and precisely represented without any partiality." 15
I would now like to examine some of the challenges that Buraku industries and enterprises face with respect to their survival and development by referring to a number of significant surveys.
3-1. Large Cities ? Osaka
There are a number of different indications that suggest that conditions of Dowa districts are getting worse. The following is an outline of some of the major difficulties. 16
1) Industrial Structure
Dowa district large-scale industrial structure mainly comprises of wholesale/retail and restaurant businesses. This is a similar kind of structure to the overall large-scale industrial structure of Osaka prefecture. Under other industrial classifications, however, Dowa districts display their own unique characteristics with a higher proportion of real estate and construction industries on one hand, and a lower proportion of service industries on the other. In comparison with the previous survey of fiscal year 1997, while the percentage of total industry that the real estate industry accounts for has increased, that of the manufacturing industry has decreased. This suggests that Dowa industries are undergoing a large change. Dowa districts account for a large proportion of the following medium-sized industries: real-estate agents and care-takers (real estate industry); job classification, facility installation work (construction industry); tanning, tanned-leather goods and leather production (manufacturing); wholesale of food and beverage, construction material and mineral/metal materials (wholesaling, retailing and food catering); disposal of industrial waste (service industry); and track transportation (transportation and communication industry). The proportion that the above industries account for is greater in Dowa districts than it is for Osaka overall. Examination of small-sized industries reveals that many people in Dowa districts are engaged in renting houses/rooms and running meat retail businesses. In comparison with the entire prefecture of Osaka in terms of percentage, Dowa districts have more ten times more people engaged in the following businesses: production of leather shoes and related accessories, truck transportation businesses, wholesale of agricultural products, wholesale of meat, fish and recycled materials, meat retail, household waste disposal, and tanned leather good production. 17
2) Number of Employees
More than 50% of business operators in Dowa districts employ only one or two people. Dowa businesses with less than five employees account for nearly 80% of all Dowa businesses. The average number of employees per business establishment in Dowa districts only slightly exceeds the average for Osaka prefecture, but this gap is getting wider. In recent years, business operators in Dowa districts have sought to make their business operations more efficient by replacing their permanent employees with family or part-time workers, but this practice has only increased levels of labour-intensive production and delayed the modernisation of business operations. This has, in turn, lead to an increase in the number of employees per business establishment in Dowa districts. It is clear that business operators in Dowa districts face many organisational and human resource related difficulties. 18
3) Sales in shipment amount
The average annual sales in shipment amount of business operators in Dowa districts amount to around 10 million yen. However, business establishments with annual sales in shipment amount of around 10 million yen constitute an overwhelming proportion of Dowa businesses. This is producing a widening gap between the distribution and average annual sales of business establishments.
As can be seen in employee number issues, sales amount among business operators in Dowa districts exceeds the average for Osaka prefecture. This suggests that business establishments in Dowa districts cannot be characterised simply as "petty" businesses. 19
4) Owners and Successors of Business Establishments
More than half of the business owners in Dowa districts are in their 40's and 50's. It should also be noted that the proportion of those who in their 60's or over is increasing. Dowa districts are consequently facing the problem of having an aging work force. The proportion of those businesses that have successors is increasing, but the proportion of those who have no successors is also increasing. The current survey has shown a higher percentage of Dowa businesses with no successors than those with successors. This result is contrary to that of the previous survey. 20
5) By District
Some Dowa districts consist mainly of businesses concentrating on one specific industry, but others have business that engage in a variety of different industries. Furthermore, not all Dowa districts have the same industrial distribution as other districts.
While the number of business establishments operating in the same Dowa district that they reside in is decreasing, the number of those residing outside the districts that they operate within, those operating outside the districts that they reside in, and those both operating and residing outside their home districts are gradually increasing. 21
6) Results and Evaluations of the Qualitative Research
Most business operators in Dowa districts (47.5%) indicate that business conditions are "getting worse" according to the Diffusion Index (DI: showing the judgement of business conditions by business operators). They feel that they are in an unfavourable business environment. Those engaged in manufacturing, wholesale/retail, restaurants, finance and insurance face especially difficult conditions.
In response to the question about the future of their business operations, nearly 75% of respondents answered that they would continue working in the same business. There were only a small number of business operators who planed to review their current business and consider restructuring or participating in new businesses. There appears to be a problem of an overall lack of innovation.
Less than 10% of Dowa businesses have introduced computers into their operations. This shows no improvement from past conditions according to the 1995 survey. Dowa businesses lag far behind the general trend towards the introduction of information technology.
These results indicate that business owners in Dowa districts face many problems in their business operations. 22
The survey reinforces the fact that that eradication of the continuing social discrimination against Buraku is an important prerequisite for the promotion and development of industries in Dowa districts. 23
3-2-1. Rural Area ? Sakurai-city, Nara Prefecture
The conditions in Sakurai-city, Nara Prefecture, will now be briefly examined. 24
Nara prefecture is the oldest metropolis of Japan. It is a hometown of many traditional localized industries, some of which can be identified as the origin of many modern Buraku industries. Dowa districts in Nara prefecture have a long history. Even prior to the modern age, Nara had more than 80 Buraku communities. Today, Nara stands at the top of the country in terms of proportion of Buraku households and population against the total number of households and population per prefecture.
According to the survey to examine the actual conditions of Dowa areas, conducted by the Office of the Prime Minister in 1975, there were then 82 Dowa districts, 18,353 households and 62,175 Buraku people in Nara prefecture. The Buraku population accounted for 5.7% of the total population of the prefecture, which placed Nara at the top of the country in terms of Buraku population percentage. About 60% of the prefecture's Dowa districts had more than 100 households each, which indicated a different kind of pattern of Buraku distribution than in other prefectures, including the Kinki area, as well as for the whole country. The progress of Buraku industries in Nara prefecture can be explained as one of factors that have contributed to the uniqueness of the prefecture. Having developed over time, Buraku industries in the prefecture currently engage in the manufacture of ski-shoes, sport-shoes, men's shoes, baseball gloves and mitts, sandals, fur and leather goods and leather buttons. Except for a few companies, they are all small enterprises. They used to hold a large portion of the market share in their respective domestic markets in terms of production output, but, as seen in the drop-out from the American baseball glove and mitt market, they have been driven into danger of collapse by increased competition from developing countries, backed by leading Japanese trading companies. 25
Thorough analysis of problems that Buraku industries in Sakurai city faced, a survey's report of Sakurai city aimed at creating basic guidelines for administrative policies and measures to be taken in working towards the ultimate goal of Buraku liberation.
Sakurai city, following just behind Nara city, has become one of the prefecture's most prominent cities in terms of having a markedly high increase of new residents moving in from other areas. This increase has been caused by the proximity of the city to the major city of Osaka. Agriculture used to be the major industry of the city as it is located on the rich Yamato Plain. Statistics from 1985 show, however, that only 6.7% of the population engaged in the agricultural sector compared to the national level of 9.3% and prefectural level of 6.4%. Furthermore, among all 2,664 households engaged in farming in the city, 2,477 (93%) households had sideline businesses. This indicates that they were compelled to find work in other industries. Those engaged in the manufacturing sector accounted for 35.6%, compared to 33.3% (national) and 32.9% (prefectural). Those who engaged in the service sector accounted for 57.2%, compared to 57.5% (national) and 59.5% (prefectural). Sakurai city, like the rest of the country, has been experiencing an industrial shift into the service sector. The manufacturing sector of the city mainly consists of small-to-medium sized and petty enterprises based on light localized industries. Sakurai city's Buraku areas have industries that are very typical of general Buraku industries. The survey's report clearly showed that:
The community as a whole engages in production activities. It has a reasonably stratified structure consisting of sub-contractors, second-sub-contractors and part-time workers. For the community as a Dowa district, it is a quite important challenge to put Dowa Measures into practice.26
Meanwhile, a new problem is emerging in city's Buraku districts. While Buraku people, especially those who are young, have had an increasing number of opportunities to gain employment in companies outside their communities as a result of the successful Buraku liberation movement, Buraku industries in the districts have begun to suffer from a shortage of available successors and workers.
The issue of the elimination of employment discrimination does not only mean promoting employment of Buraku people in companies, but also encouraging the invitation of specialists and general workers with special skills into Buraku communities in order to modernize, streamline and develop Buraku industries. While the exchange of technology, knowledge and experience among different lines of businesses has been called for, it is strongly urged that efforts should also be concentrated on the elimination of "bias and prejudice" and discrimination against Buraku (which is the national objective) in order to encourage the invitation of human resources into Buraku areas and to simultaneously take the necessary steps for building infrastructure within Buraku industries (which is the obligation of the state).
3-2-2. Rural Area ? Mie Prefecture
The following is an outline of the present conditions of major Buraku industries and lines of business in Mie prefecture. Possible measures for the future development of Buraku industries are summarized below. 27
(1) Those who manage businesses amount to 1,367 (11%), those who do not manage businesses account for 80%, "unknown" account for 9%.
(2) The largest Buraku industry/line of business is that of construction, which accounts for 31% (417 people). It is followed by manufacturing with 15% (209), the service industry with 11% (152), retail with 9% (119) and restaurant businesses with 9% (117).
(3) Classification by business size according to the number of employees reveals that most businesses (69%) are very small with between 1 and 4 people.
(4) Main Buraku industries/lines of businesses of business operators in the area targeted by the survey are construction and manufacturing. These are mainly petty enterprises, as can be seen in the general tendency of Dowa districts in other prefectures.
(5) Private Buraku business operators account for 87%. In contrast to this, those who operate business as a corporation account for only 3%.
(6) Many of the surveyed Buraku businesses (24%) began in the '90s.
(7) The general characteristics of Buraku businesses are almost the same as those indicated by the previous survey. These include a concentration on construction and manufacturing in the second sector and increased service businesses and restaurants in the third sector, which reflects the progress of the service-oriented economy and current industrial trends.
On the other hand, while the retail business still accounts for a high percentage, it is anticipated that the current worldwide trend towards the expansion of general stores and large supermarkets could have a strong impact on typical Buraku industries such as small-sized retailers of meat and leather/fur products.
(8) Regarding the business operation location, 44% of businesses operate from within residential houses. Combining this with those people who operate businesses from within their own Dowa districts and those who do business in Dowa districts located in their respective municipalities brings it up to a total proportion of 75%.
(9) With regard to future management policy, a majority of 53% of businesses intend to maintain their current status. Meanwhile, it is noteworthy that 22% are keen to expand their businesses. It should also be noted that the percentage of those who want to reduce their business size or retire from business has increased to 3%, which is about 3 times higher than the percentage indicated by the previous survey.
In summary, it can be concluded that the general nature of Buraku businesses as petty or family-businesses has made it difficult for them to manage employment from a perspective of maintaining good employment relations.
They have had no other way to procure workers but to rely on such traditional and customary ways as asking family members, relatives, friends in the same district, or friends outside their districts to find prospective employees for them. 28 (to be continued)
Notes:
14: Tachibanaki Toshiaki, 1998, Nihon no Keizaikakusa ?Shotoku to Shisan kara Kangaeru (Looking at Economic disparities in Japan from the perspective of Income and Property), Iwanami Shoten, (in Japanese), p.82
15: Ibid., p.83
16: The Osaka Prefectural Corporation for the Promotion of Dowa Integration Projects, 1998, Dowachiku Kigyo Jittaichosa Houkokusho ( Survey Report of Fiscal Year 1997 on the Actual State of Enterprises in Dowa Districts)
17: Ibid., p.3
18: Ibid., p.12
19: Ibid., p.23
20: Ibid., p.33
21: Ibid., p.37
22: Ibid., p.45
23: Ibid., p.55
24: Sakurai city, 1991, Dowa-chiku Sangyo Jittai Houkokusho (Report on the Actual Industrial State of Dowa Districts)
25: Tsujimoto Masanori, 1986, "Nara Prefecture" in Buraku Liberation Research Institute ed., Buraku Mondai Jiten (Encyclopaedia of Buraku Issues), Buraku Liberation Press (in Japanese), pp.645-646
26: Sakurai city, 1991, Dowa-chiku Sangyo Jittai Houkokusho (Report on the Actual Industrial State of Dowa Districts)
27: Tanaka Mitsuru, 1996, "Jigyosho (Enterprises)" in Mie prefecture Life Science Department ed., Mie-ken Dowa-chiku Seikatsu Jittai Chosa Houkokusho (Report on the actual state of the Dowa districts in Mie prefecture)
28: Ibid., pp.241-242