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The state‐guided housing system in Japan during the "post‐war growth period" has consistently driven the expansion of the family‐owned housing sector, in association with an increase in independent nuclear households. Nevertheless, Japan entered a "post‐growth era" in the 1990s, characterized by a more precarious economy, aging population, and policy shifts toward a more neoliberal course. People's housing paths have since noticeably diverged, in relation to both individualization and familization in life‐courses. However, government housing policy has remained directed toward family home ownership while excluding unmarried individuals, one‐person households, and renter households. This is beginning to widen social inequalities. Using the case of post‐growth Japan, this study focuses on the roles that individualization and familization play in reshaping housing paths, and examines the extent to which home‐owning societies centered on conventional nuclear households are sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neoliberalism has dominated policy discourse and policy formulation for at least two decades and has been particularly influential in reshaping housing systems and housing opportunities. The timing, pace and impact of these policy developments have, however, varied between and within societies. This article explores the experiences of Japan and the UK as a way of illustrating that while there has been a shared discourse of neoliberalism, there have been important contextual differences in relation to the economic cycle, welfare systems and political complexion. These have affected the progress and development of neoliberal policy reforms in housing and in other related spheres and the extent of global financial integration. In both countries, a key social change is the striking reduction in levels of home ownership among younger age groups. The article explores the common and different causes and consequences of these trends and points to the significance of these emerging generational fissions for the neoliberal project. Résumé Cela fait au moins vingt ans que le néolibéralisme a envahi le discours et la formulation de l'action publique. Son influence a été considérable sur la reconfiguration des systèmes et des opportunités de logement. Le moment, le rythme et l'impact de ces évolutions politiques ont néanmoins varié d'une sociétéà une autre, et au sein de chacune. Les expériences du Japon et du Royaume-Uni sont examinées ici afin de montrer que, malgré un discours néolibéral commun, on peut repérer de nettes différences contextuelles en lien avec le cycle économique, les systèmes de protection sociale et la coloration politique. Ces facteurs ont pesé sur la progression et l'ampleur des réformes politiques néolibérales dans le domaine du logement et d'autres sphères connexes, ainsi que sur la portée de l'intégration financière mondiale. Les deux pays révèlent une transformation sociale cruciale: les propriétaires de leur logement sont en forte diminution dans les tranches d’âge les plus jeunes. L’étude s'intéresse aux causes, communes et différentes, ainsi qu'aux conséquences de ces tendances, tout en marquant l'importance, pour le projet néolibéral, de ces ruptures générationnelles récentes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]