Abstract
Commemorating the International Year of Disabled Persons in 1981, a review of the trend of post-war rehabilitation research seemed to be one of the essential tasks of researchers in the field of social rehabilitation in Japan. Recognizing mutual influence between research and other factors such as rehabilitation policy development, consumer movements, promotion of social attitudes to the disabled, the writer views the rehabilitation research systematically in the social context. Based on this approach to the research, the paper discusses the following points. First is to define the main issueof the post-war history of rehabilitation research analyzed by decades. Second is to clarify the nature of books and papers written by the disabled people themselves. Third is to identify the movement of social philosophy underlying the historical development of rehabilitation research efforts. Fourth is to cite the position and function of the rehabilitation research in comprehensive social welfare systems. Fifth is to define the developmental tasks of rehabilitation research today and tomorrow including the topic areas, research manpower, research methodology to be taught in schools, and promotion of international research exchange and utilization.
