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.

　In recent years, we have seen a nearing of welfare and education, with growing

significance being attached to academic achievement as a key factor for

overcoming poverty. Underlying this trend is a destabilization of the previously

established order in which education and welfare were segregated in mutually

exclusive spheres under the jurisdictions of two major agents, school and family.

At the beginning of the 21st century, both agents are at risk of faltering rather

than supporting each other. What is needed under these circumstances is a

new welfare-education philosophy that places value on the weakness and pathos

of human beings and that can also serve as a foundation for a new concept

of educational achievement.

　From the viewpoint above, in this paper we first criticize the concept of

achievement used in previous sociology of education studies. Next, we turn to

the arguments of Erich Fromm and Giorgio Agamben for hints of new philosophy

that might serve as a foundation for transforming the concept of educational

achievement. In particular, Fromm’s concepts of potency as virtue and productiveness

and Agamben’s concept of impotentiality are useful ones that assume

the pathos of human beings and that also show the connectedness between the

formation and exercise of abilities and the pursuit of welfare and human ethics.

　Since the 2010s, guaranteeing learning opportunities for long-term absentee

children has become an urgent issue in the field of sociology from the viewpoint

of children’s well-being or agency. However, while previous studies have focused

on initiatives within the school system such as school attendance assistance

and learning support, they have overlooked the significance and diversity

of learning outside existing school systems. Specifically, such studies have highlighted

the increase in management of children who do not or cannot attend

regular schools since the enactment of the Educational Opportunity Law in

2016. However, the difficulties faced by out-of-school learning spaces in their

day-to-day operations have not been clarified.

　Therefore, this paper takes a capability approach （CA） to examine: （1） how

support for long-term absentee children has been developed at the compulsory

education level in Japan since enactment of the Educational Opportunity Law,

and（ 2） what kind of conflicts have been faced by unauthorised free school activities

under current policy trends.

　The results show that, since enactment of the law, consideration has begun to

be given to the expansion of various learning opportunities （allocation of educational

resources） for out-of-school children both inside and outside the school

system including the need for financial support and respite （although these

have been inadequately addressed）. On the other hand, free schools have been

viewed as ‘support facilities’ with a specific purpose instead of the traditional

multi-purpose ‘places to be （ibasho）.’ It has become clear that a system for

‘sorting out the difficulties of children’s daily lives’ is emerging. Accordingly, it

is important to design systems that substantively guarantee children’s freedom,

including their freedom to ‘do nothing.’

　Lately, the percentage of children with disabilities enrolled in special schools

and special units has been increasing in Japan. Consequently, children with disabilities

and those without disabilities are increasingly being segregated. Accordingly,

the purpose of this study is to examine the notion that people do not

understand that access to inclusive education to be a right. First, Article 24 of

the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was compared to the

July 2012 report issued by Japan’s Central Council for Education. The report

does not explain that people with disabilities have the right to inclusive education.

Instead, the report highlights inclusive education as a philosophy instead

of a right. I argue that there is a need to create an inclusive society in which

persons with disabilities learn and live alongside persons without disabilities

while enjoying the same “rights” that the latter perceive as “their natural entitlement.”