英文摘要 |
The purpose of this paper is to adopt discursive institutionalism to explain the evolution of Japanese policies toward low fertility since 1990. I argue that the dominant discourse formed by experts affiliated with the Ministry of Health in the 1990s has had irreducible impact on the long-term policy evolution. Between 1990 and 2001 the dominant discourse of “compatibility between childrearing and work” that attributes low fertility to the unfriendly environment for females was formed and dominated the policy field. After year 2001, this discourse further evolved to a “work life balance” discourse that had broader impacts and inspired more coordinated policy actions. However, the unstable governments before 2012 prevented the forbad Japanese government from taking more effective actions. Not until the second Abe cabinet did Japanese policies toward low fertility make more progress. ITo adequately evaluate the Japanese policies toward low fertility, the power and limitations of the dominant policy discourses should not be overlooked. |