Social Welfare in Japan is an important study of the historical development and fundamental characteristics of social welfare in Japan and beyond. Reviewing arguments about the welfare state and the conceptualization of the individual in society, author Kojun Furukawa traces the emergence of social welfare as a domain of theory and practice that is at once interdisciplinary and unique. Focusing on the post-war era, Furukawa deftly interweaves discussions on the state of social welfare research, the nature of social welfare aid, policy, management and organization, and the historical antecedents to these factors.

About Editors and Authors

FURUKAWA Kojun, Professor and Vice President in the Faculty of Health and Welfare, Nishikyushu University, is a Japanese scholar whose primary research interest is social welfare.

He obtained his PhD in Social Welfare from Japan Women's University, and his career has seen him serving in the position of President of the Japan Society for the Study of Social Welfare. His early research focused on child welfare, but later shifted to the history and theory of social welfare.