Inconsistency between policy presumptions and actual relationships of the intergenerational relationships within the family in present-day Japan

[Background] As the population ages and insufficient public funding for supporting older people causes concern, the importance of the public-private welfare mix (joining the various public and private welfare resources) attracts wider attention. For the welfare mix to function effectively, it is important that the policy presumption of the family conforms to actual family relationships. Social policy in present-day Japan, which is informed by post-war male breadwinner model on the one hand and traditional culture of intergenerational coresidence on the other, presumes that older women are to live with and be supported by their spouse and adult child.   [Research question] This study examines whether this policy presumption conform to actual family relationships in present-day Japan.   [Data and method] The determinants of married children’s coresidence with their older father and mothers are analyzed. The data used in this study was obtained from the 3rd National Family Research in Japan conducted in 2009. Data of married adult children with at least one living parent or parent-in-law are analyzed.   [Results] According to the results, both the norm of coresidence and the adult daughter’s higher socio-economic status (as a proxy of her negotiating power) increase the likelihood of coresidence with the older mother if the mother lives with her spouse, whereas the effects of those factors are significantly weaker if the mother is widowed. For the coresidence with the father, in contrast, those determinants always have positive effects regardless of the father’s spousal relationship. Consequently, Japanese widowed mother is more likely than other types of parents to live in a single household. This result reveals that the reality of family relationships is inconsistent with the policy presumption.   [Conclusion] It is argued that the current policy presumption should be changed and various measures for supporting older women in the single household are required.