Gradual institutional change in contemporary Japan: Between conservative establishment and bottom-up agency

This introduction to the special issue “Gradual Institutional Change in Contemporary Japan: Single-life and Immigration” explores the mechanisms of institutional change in contemporary Japan, analyzing the persistent tension between the conservative establishment and bottom-up agency. Drawing on the theoretical framework of gradual institutional change, we contend that while Japan has avoided revolutionary shifts despite decades of economic and demographic decline, it is experiencing notable institutional transformation through incremental processes. The volume examines four critical domains: solo-sociality, foreign entrepreneurship, admission and integration policy, as well as care migration. The authors of these contributions to the special issue illustrate how the state pragmatically utilizes “layering” and “displacement” to reform immigration policy while simultaneously resisting changes to traditional family and gender norms. In contrast, micro-level actors exercise agency through “conversion” and “positive deviance,” reinterpreting existing structures to validate new social practices. For example, despite conservative rhetoric, solo-sociality has been normalized through market commodification and individual lifestyle choices. In the second case of immigration, the papers identify a profound tension between Japan’s demographic imperative for openness and the politicization of Japan’s national identity. This introduction underscores that institutional continuity in Japan is not a sign of stagnation but rather a result of a complex, multiscalar interplay between top-down regulation and bottom-up adaptation.