As was indicated in the Introduction, the role of market forces in the determination of rewards for Japanese employees is less evident than in other countries. Dore (1973) found that, apart from complexity, the Japanese wage system had nothing in common with the British system:

While there is a view that the reward system is just another element of a unique cultural tradition that emphasises equality and stability – Abegglen (1958) calls the system “indirect and paternalistic” – most commentators see strong rational foundations. An important element of the rationalist explanation is the development of the “lifecycle” wage system, which we mentioned earlier. However, as this practice became institutionalised during the decades following the end of the war, the importance of the experience that comes with tenure was emphasised to give seniority wages the sense of legitimacy that has sustained it until the present day. Thus, although economic growth rendered the concept of the livelihood wage less meaningful, and technological progress theoretically eroded the relationship between seniority and skill, the influence of seniority has been remarkably persistent in the modern Japanese employment system.