ABSTRACT
Japan’s post-war economic growth has been remarkable.1 Japan became one of a handful of non-Westem nations that was both democratic and industrialized with an established social security system within a relatively short period of time. On the other hand, its development of welfare programs was often regarded as ‘lagging behind’ its significant economic achievement. Criticism was found in both Western and Japanese literature that Japan had gained post-war economic success partly at the sacrifice of welfare (Lee, 1987; Nakagawa, 1979; Rudd, 1994). For instance, when measured as a proportion of GDP, public expenditure on welfare in Japan has been relatively low compared to other industrial nations. According to ILO reports on the Costs of Social Security, most industrial nations were spending two to three times the Japanese rates in the 1960s and 1970s. Although a significant improvement has been made since then, current Japanese rates are still considered to be low - approximately equivalent to the average for OECD countries in the 1960s (Table 4.1). Certainly, the imbalance between the rapid economic growth and the relatively slow development of a comprehensive welfare state, and differences in Japan’s social policy development from Western nations makes it all the more interesting to analyse.
