An empirical study of inheritance in today's Japan

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• 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
• 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

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.

Free Research Field

社会学（家族社会学）

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。