現代家族と障害者の自立

日本型「近代家族」を超えて

抄録

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the current family system in Japan from the perspective of the independent living (civil rights) of people with disabilities, and to discuss the future family system and its social conditions.
We can define the family system of current Japanese families as the Japanese type of “modern family system”. This is based on the division of sex-roles and has the large responsibility of social security for family members.
The two main issues for current Japanese families are as follows. As compared to the Western type of modern family system, they do not have resistance power against the larger society and the state. Second, there are not equal relationships among family members. In other words, they do not support adult members with disabilities in independent living, because they still cast them in the role of dependent children. They do not promote the social position of women outside the home, because women are seen as care-providers in the family. These characteristics of the Japanese type of “modern family system” arise from Japanese social policy which has been based on a “residual” welfare model since modernization.
If we can define the future family system in the new post-industrial society as a post-modern family system, it must consist of equal relationships among each family member based on the dignity of human beings. Such a family system will only be achieved, however, through a social policy of universal application of a welfare model to all individuals and without gender bias.