Shifting Trajectories of Homeownership in Japan

Abstract

In contemporary Japanese society, ‘post-bubble’ housing debates are being shaped by labour market restructuring, demographic change and policy shifts. In this context, this paper explores shifting trajectories of homeownership using three specific housing debates: ‘the emergence of a gap society’, ‘increasing single-person households’ and ‘housing assets in later life’. By exploring these various debates, it attempts to highlight how housing, demography and social policy interact at different levels and in different areas to produce dynamic shifts away from the conventional post-war housing trajectory. Current trends have exhibited shifts away from: the linear upward housing trajectory; the family-centred housing model; the land-orientated housing system; and homeownership dominance per se. The concept of generation is used as a thread to tie the different debates together. Each housing issue is often more relevant to a particular generation, but relationships between generations within families and society add to the dynamism to the current shifts.