Housing, family, and life‐course in post‐growth Japan

• Main Author: Yosuke Hirayama
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2021-04-01
• Series: Japan Architectural Review
• Subjects: familization; home ownership; individualization; life‐course; post‐growth
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1002/2475-8876.12216

Abstract The state‐guided housing system in Japan during the “post‐war growth period” has consistently driven the expansion of the family‐owned housing sector, in association with an increase in independent nuclear households. Nevertheless, Japan entered a “post‐growth era” in the 1990s, characterized by a more precarious economy, aging population, and policy shifts toward a more neoliberal course. People's housing paths have since noticeably diverged, in relation to both individualization and familization in life‐courses. However, government housing policy has remained directed toward family home ownership while excluding unmarried individuals, one‐person households, and renter households. This is beginning to widen social inequalities. Using the case of post‐growth Japan, this study focuses on the roles that individualization and familization play in reshaping housing paths, and examines the extent to which home‐owning societies centered on conventional nuclear households are sustainable.