A small but growing number of white collar workers earned monthly salaries. They were called sarariiman, or salaried workers. After World War II, today's middle-class rose from the ashes of wartime destruction and became employed as salaried workers. Blue collar, white collar, store clerks, shopkeepers, regardless of the line of business they were in, all joined the ranks of the new urban and suburban salaried workers. The rise of the Japanese middle-class in an urbanized setting has brought about significant changes in Japanese society.
Japanese today enjoy a comfortable standard of living.
In less than fifty years after World War II, they have raised their standard of living to stand on a par with those of other major industrial nations. And they have enjoyed nearly thirty years of affluence and abundance. As their standard of living continued to improve, Japan have been able to reorder their priorities. No longer do they have to place such a high priority, or even the highest priority on work. Many can afford to place almost equal importance on enjoying their own life.