An empirical study of inheritance in today's Japan

• Project/Area Number: 16K04125
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Sociology
• Research Institution: Kansai University
• Principal Investigator: YAMATO Reiko 関西大学, 社会学部, 教授 (50240049)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2018)
• Budget Amount: ¥3,770,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥870,000); Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000); Fiscal Year 2017: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000); Fiscal Year 2016: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000)
• Keywords: 親－成人子の世代関係 / 個人化 / 父系 / 相続 / 同居 / 援助 / 少子高齢化 / 性別分業 / 世代関係 / 性別分業の変化 / 福祉ミックス

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aims at analyzing inheritance in Japan today in relation to other aspects of intergenerational relationships including residential arrangements and support exchanges. The finding from the analysis is that intergenerational relationships in Japan today are not straightforwardly guided by one principle. Intergenerational relationships as a whole consist of various different relations, which include emphases on the husband's side of the family vs. on the wife's side of the family; on the male heir vs. on the female heir vs. equal distribution of responsibilities or resources.
A reason for such multidimensional relationships could be that people make adjustments so as to keep a balance in intergenerational relationships between the traditional inclination toward prioritizing the husband's side of the family or the male heir and the recent tendency toward emphasizing the wife's side of the family or the female heir or equal distribution of responsibilities or resources.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

近年、高齢化によって福祉ニーズが増加しているにもかかわらず、現役世代の人口減少により公的財源は不足している。そのために公的援助と私的援助（家族間の援助）を組み合わせて対応する、つまり福祉ミックスの必要性が社会的に高まっている。福祉ミックスをうまく機能させるには、私的な家族関係・世代関係がどのようなものかというその実態を把握する必要がある。本研究はこうした社会的必要に対応しようとするものである。

Research Products

• [Journal Article] 親・義親との援助関係における”夫婦の個人化”？――第3回全国家族調査（NFRJ08）の分析から (2017)
  • Author(s): 大和礼子
  • Journal Title: 人口問題研究 Volume: 73 Pages: 58-77
  • Open Access
• [Presentation] “Determinants of intergenerational living arrangements in Japan: A comparison between living together, living nearby, and living far away with the husband’s and the wife’s parents” (2018)
  • Author(s): YAMATO, Reiko
  • Organizer: The joint conference for RC06 and RC41: Changing Demography, Changing Families, held at Singapore
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] “Changing Roles of the Wife and the Husband in Care-Giving to Their Older Parents in Japan” (2018)
  • Author(s): YAMATO, Reiko
  • Organizer: The session of Caring of Elderly By Their Families: Roles and Challenges in Ageing Societies, RC11, The XIX ISA World Congress of Sociology, held at Toronto, Canada
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Patrilineal, bilateral, or individualized? Changing intergenerational relationships in Japan (2016)
  • Author(s): Yamato, Reiko
  • Organizer: The Third ISA Forum of Sociology
  • Place of Presentation: University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
  • Year and Date: 2016-07-10
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Book] 『オトナ親子の同居・近居・援助―夫婦の個人化と性別分業の間』 (2017)
  • Author(s): 大和礼子
  • Total Pages: 206
  • Publisher: 学文社
  • ISBN: 9784762027376
• [Book] 「公的介護保険導入にともなう介護期待の変化――自分の介護を誰に頼るか」, 稲葉昭英・保田時男・田渕六郎・田中重人編『日本の家族 1999-2009 全国家族調査[NFRJ]による計量社会学』 (2016)
  • Author(s): 大和礼子
  • Total Pages: 364
  • Publisher: 東京大学出版会
• [Book] The Impact of a Changing Employment System on Women's Employment upon Marriage and after Childbirth in Japan, Tarohmaru, Hiroshi (ed.) Labor Markets, Gender and Social Stratification in East Asia: A Global Perspective (2016)
  • Author(s): Yamato, Reiko
  • Total Pages: 242
  • Publisher: Leiden: Brill
• [Book] An Inter Regional Comparison of Occupational Gender Segregation in Japan, Tarohmaru, Hiroshi (ed.) Labor Markets, Gender and Social Stratification in East Asia: A Global Perspective (2016)
  • Author(s): Oda, Akiko, Hiroshi Tarohmaru and Reiko Yamato
  • Total Pages: 242
  • Publisher: Leiden: Brill