Housing, family, and life-course in post-growth Japan

Abstract

The state-guided housing system in Japan during the “post-war growth period” has consistently driven the expansion of the family-owned housing sector, in association with an increase in independent nuclear households. Nevertheless, Japan entered a “post-growth era” in the 1990s, characterized by a more precarious economy, aging population, and policy shifts toward a more neoliberal course. People's housing paths have since noticeably diverged, in relation to both individualization and familization in life-courses. However, government housing policy has remained directed toward family home ownership while excluding unmarried individuals, one-person households, and renter households. This is beginning to widen social inequalities. Using the case of post-growth Japan, this study focuses on the roles that individualization and familization play in reshaping housing paths, and examines the extent to which home-owning societies centered on conventional nuclear households are sustainable.