Japanese Social Welfare System Reform and Transformation of Social Governance

Abstract

This chapter will discuss the social welfare system and governance transformation in Japan. We focus on the critical determinants for governance transformation and the transition of the welfare-state in Japan from the perspective of relationships between multiple segments such as the state and market, government and private sector, family and individual. The construction and formation of the national welfare system in Japan had achieved remarkable improvements during the period of the 1950s to 1970s. However, the Japanese welfare-state has been transformed after 1980s. Issues addressed include who should be responsible for social welfare; how responsibility can be taken for problems of the social welfare system and; the power bargaining and related controversies that were carried out between the government, market, private sector, families, and individuals. In this chapter, we will gain insight into the truth about the transformation of the social welfare system in Japan, through analysis of the processes of social governance transformation that are unfamiliar to many people.