Original article, by Fred McDowell, via Socialist Appeal (UK):
Communism is suddenly back in fashion in Japan. The reason is not hard to seek. ‘Lifetime employment’ is a thing of the past for young workers, who face a casualised and insecure future. One in three is temping. Some 44% of country’s workforce are part-time only, while a profusion of short-term contracts has created a generation of freelancers who are often ‘between jobs’. They have already worked out that, as recession bites, they will be first in the firing line. They are drawing political conclusions in increasing numbers.