ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on Japan's 'post-bubble housing' in terms of exploring housing conditions in the era of economic instability. It examines changes in the housing economy, particularly at the household level. The chapter begins with a discussion on the theoretical and social significance of economic bubbles in terms of transformations in housing systems as well as the distinctiveness of the Japanese case in investigating post-crisis housing. Housing systems in post-growth societies are primarily underpinned by unstable economic conditions. The rise and fall of housing bubbles have been closely linked to major economic crises such as the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997/1998 and the more recent Global Financial Crisis in 2007/2008. The burst of the bubble economy was a significant watershed in the post-war history of Japan's housing system since it provided a trigger for the fundamental reorganisation of housing policy and the housing market. The chapter concludes with implications of post-crisis economies on housing systems in the post-growth era.
