Editing Freeter (section)

==History==
The increase of Freeters in the 1990s and 2000s is associated with the subsequent rapid changes that the nation has undergone since the bursting of the economic bubble at the beginning of the 1990s and the increasing neoliberalization of the economy.<ref name=":05"/> The almost two decade recession urged companies to change their workforce policies to stay relevant in the global market. Companies halted hiring graduates for permanent employment, rolled back bonuses, incentivized senior employees to retire, and created a strong policy of hiring temporary staff for more flexibility and company savings with over a third of the workforce moving onto contractual work.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Lukács, Gabriella.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/662616872|title=Scripted affects, branded selves : television, subjectivity, and capitalism in 1990s Japan|date=2010|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0-8223-9323-8|location=Durham, NC|oclc=662616872}}</ref>

The relaxation of protective labor laws and the deregulation of recruitment practices in 1998 allowed companies to employ larger numbers of flexible workers for longer periods of time.<ref name=":3" />

The increase in private secondary schools is leading to a lower number of public school students getting enrolled into elite universities resulting in more demand for part-time work as full-time work is becoming less available to public school graduates.<ref name=":22">{{Cite journal|last=Maree|first=Claire|date=June 2004|title=Same-Sex Partnerships in Japan: Bypasses and Other Alternatives|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00497870490464396|journal=Women's Studies|language=en|volume=33|issue=4|pages=541–549|doi=10.1080/00497870490464396|s2cid=143877948|issn=0049-7878|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

About 10% of high school and university graduates could not find steady employment in the spring of 2000, and a full 50% of those who could find a job left within three years after employment. The employment situation is worse for the youngest freeters.

From 2000 to 2009, the number of freeters increased rapidly. In 1982 there were an estimated 0.5 million freeters in Japan, 0.8 million in 1987, 1.01 million in 1992 and 1.5 million in 1997. The number for 2001 is 4.17 million freeters according to one estimate, and 2 million in 2002 according to another estimate.

Many Japanese people worry about the future impact of freeters on society. If they work at all, freeters often work at convenience stores, supermarkets, fast food outlets, restaurants, and other low paying jobs. According to a survey by the Japan Institute of Labor in 2000, the average freeter works 4.9 days per week and earns [[yen|¥]]139,000 per month (ca. $1,300 U.S.). Two thirds of freeters have never had a regular, full-time job.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

The rise of internet business has allowed some freeters to work from home and be self-employed. Some experts predict that [[Aging of Japan|Japan's aging population]] will create a labor shortage that will increase career options for freeters.