Social Policies for Transition to Adulthood and Possibility of Sociology:

Changing Perceptions from Freeter and NEET to Social Exclusion

Abstract

This article argues that the state of young people known as ‘freeter’ and NEET are manifestations of social exclusion rather than that of labour market trends. The article reviews the way in which the focus of the government's youth policies have shifted from the employment issues to social inclusion initiatives, and examines how Sociology has addressed the issue as these youth problems became increasingly urgent. The term ‘social policies’ in the article's title refers to the series of policies for supporting young people with difficult backgrounds during their transition to adulthood.
The late 1980s saw a new surge of interest in youth studies as an interdisciplinary academic field. Along with a number of youth policies initiated by the government, by the mid-2000s, youth issues became not only a significant subject of academic study but also a social phenomenon that was widely discussed in the media. The interest in the issue can be broadly divided into five categories: 1) empirical research into the backgrounds of young people who were classified as ‘freeters’ or NEET; 2) comparative studies of youths in similar conditions in developed countries; 3) youths support initiatives within the labour policies in Japan; 4) books for general readers about various youth problems and advice; and 5) discourse analysis of ‘freeters’ and NEET.
The increased awareness of the youth issues and active policy making in the 2000s would not have been possible without the close partnership between academics, the government agencies, and various organisations in the private sector. Academics contributed by undertaking research, analysing the findings, and presenting them in order for the government to define the aims of the policies. Sociology can explain why the issue of NEET needs to be part of social inclusion initiatives. As an academic field, Sociology is well equipped with research methods and analytical tools that can be utilised to understand the complex backgrounds of young people at risk as inter-related issues within a single framework. On this basis, this article suggests that Sociologists have the duty to advocate the importance of long-term visions when developing youth policies in order to create society in which young people are effectively supported.