"This article examines the historical transformation of the “corporate community” in Japan in terms of its relationship with the employment system. The corporate governance, labormanagement relations, and personnel systems that underpin the Japanese corporate community were formed after World War II, although some companies adopted new management systems and practices that showed continuity from the period around World War I through the postwar period. The corporate community has provided stable employment for core employees, nevertheless many studies have shown that Japanese workers do not make particularly positive assessments of their employers. And it has been noted that throughout the period of rapid economic growth (1955–1973) employees' sense of belonging continued to decline, with a corresponding drop in degree of satisfaction. Amid financial market reforms and sluggish economic growth from the 1990s onward, employers reassessed corporate governance and human resource management so as to emphasize the interests of shareholders, but since the late 2000s, there has also been movement back toward protecting the interests of employees. Workers' mentalities are changing to adapt to increased competitiveness, and young people are increasingly inclined to select more stable jobs and workplaces. It is clear that the corporate community as a whole is also adapting to a more competitive environment, but the pace of change is gradual. The fact that the corporate community is often a hotbed of corporate scandals, and the issue of how to treat employees fairly, remain major challenges. Resolution of these issues requires a new paradigm for the corporate community, geared towards resolving conflicts among different value systems."

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