Introduction to the Special Issue :Consider “Half Welfare, Half Employment”

Abstract

The General Theme of the 137th Annual Meeting （September 16, 2018） was “Consider ‘Half Welfare, Half Employment’”. In this paper, I discuss the background of the four reports and introduce their outlines. In doing so, I will point out the current conditions of ‘Half Welfare, Half Employment’ and I will frame the issues to advance discussion and debate on new initiatives to improve the provision of welfare and employment assistance to the persons who have difficulty finding jobs.I would like to emphasize three important points as a premise. First, there are three lines of thought on how to conceptualize ‘Half Welfare, Half Employment’. Second, because there are many cases where recipients of living assistance face diverse and complex difficulties, it is important to provide support that matches their individual issues and needs. And third, I would like to mention that recent years have seen an increase in new support measures devised by regional governments around Japan.

The reports of the General Session seek to deepen the discussion about how Japan should develop an activation policy that links welfare assistance to work support. This will be a challenging new area in social policy research.