Research Topics
■ Comparative welfare studies, social welfare policy studies, and civil society studies/community welfare studies
[Comparative welfare studies]
By considering the role of the government, market, family, and local community, we explore a society in which people with disabilities can be independent and a society in which children’s rights are protected and children can live safely. We listen to the field and practitioners of welfare programs while we also track and analyze the country’s welfare policy and its trend from an international point of view (Our cross-national comparisons feature the examination of Scandinavian societies such as Sweden and Norway.)
[Civil society studies/community welfare studies]
Many welfare programs originated as charity programs and later transitioned into government programs. It is impossible today to envision the deployment of welfare services without the involvement of citizens. We examine citizen participation (political participation, economic participation, and social participation) in social welfare, ideal ways people with disabilities themselves can participate, and the meaning of volunteering
[Social welfare policy studies]
We study the development and transformation of the welfare state in juxtaposition to contemporary questions of social welfare. We theoretically and empirically explore the ways in which Japan and other societies have addressed, and how we should address in the future, new requirements, risks, gaps, and exclusions that have emerged from social changes such as the aging population, greater flexibility in employment, and diversification of family.