Research Trends and Prospects ofWelfare Sociology in Japan

Abstract

　This article discusses research trends in welfare sociology in Japan from

the author’s perspectives and provides an outlook on the future of research

in this field. The first half of this article center on four lines of research

that were established prior to the 1990s; （i） Tadashi Fukutake’s

theory of social policy;（ ii）social planning and social indicator studies;（ iii ）

comparative welfare state studies; （iv） Yoshiya Soeda’s theory of welfare

sociology. As to （i）, the article discusses the author’s interest in mainstream

sociologists’ views on social policy in Japan, especially that of

Ken’ichi Tominaga. As to（ ii）, the article examines the changing nature of

social welfare planning in recent years. It then discusses new research

trends in（ iii） and goes on in（ iv） to argue that welfare sociology as a subfield

in sociology （‘hyphen-sociology’） was established on the foundation

laid by Soeda’s theories of welfare sociology. The second half of the article

examines research trends in welfare sociology based on a quantitative

analysis of refereed articles published in issues 1 to 18 of the Journal of

Welfare Sociology. Some interesting findings are discussed, including the

fact that a little more than half these articles deal with the care of the

adults or the children. The article then examines books and articles that

were awarded the Japan Welfare Sociology Association Prize and draws

attention to the fact that two works focusing on the third sector and two

works focusing on the disability movement have been awarded this prize.

Finally, the article discusses the prospects for increasing interdisciplinary

and international research exchanges in welfare sociology.