A Trend of the Policy and Public Assistance for Low―income Families in the Process of Establishing the Loan Program for Family Rehabilitation

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of the Loan Program for Family Rehabilitation （here after, Loan Program） on the Public Assistance for Low―income Families （here after Public Assistance）. The poverty policy in Japan has been carried out repeatedly through the changes of regulation directly related to the Public Assistance for Low―income Families.The paper deals with the political background of why the policy of income security and economic independence for poverty alleviation was transformed into the Loan Program in the late 1950s.In the late 1950s, the policy implementation for protecting low―income families was strongly associated with the rapid increases of low―income people and thus of recipients of the Public Assistance. This pressure resulted in the tighten policy implementation under “proper operation” in the Public Assistance and transfer to the Loan Program. This process from the late 1950s was also indicating the historical transition of welfare programs which had been excluding the working poor form the Public Assistance. This historical transition of welfare programs gives an important horizon to understand the current development of “the Law to Support Independence of People in Need” which is the scheme of self―reliance for poverty alleviation.