2025 Volume 22 Pages 99-
In 2023, the establishment of the Children and Families Agency and the en-actment of the Basic Act on Children’s Policy brought changes to child and youth policy in Japan, including the transfer of jurisdiction over the Act on Promotion of Development and Support for Children and Young People（2010） from the Cabinet Office to the new agency. In this paper, the positioning of young people within the Children’s Policy under the Children and Families Agency is examined. First, the concept of young people from the perspective of “transitions” and its relationship with social security policies is explored. Second, the historical evolution of youth support policies is reviewed to assess the extent to which these policies have been integrated into the framework of the Children and Families Agency and the position of “young people” in its policy initiatives is clarified. Third, three key issues—marginalization, social enclosure, and hierarchical ordering—are identified within the agency’s “child-centered” policy framework. Based on these analyses, the study of the future direction of youth support policies and research is discussed. The risk of hierarchical ordering being overlooked in discussions advocating for the establishment of youth support policies within broader child policies is highlighted. Furthermore, the need for fundamental and universal social security reforms in policymaking is underscored and the importance of addressing the issue of “othering” in youth support research is emphasized.
