Although family sociology in Japan has a long history, sociological family studies in Japan have undergone major changes since the 1990s. This article recounts the ways in which family sociology in Japan has developed and its current state, with a special focus on the developments in the last three decades. The 1990s marked a turning point in the history of Japanese family sociology in terms of the establishment of new academic societies and a paradigmatic shift in theoretical orientations. The trends in family research articles indicate the continuing importance of quantitative research, with the role of qualitative research on the rise over the last two decades. In reviewing the literature over the last three decades, the author summarizes four major strands of empirical research: (a) care and families, (b) social inequality and families, (c) comparative research, and (d) diversity of families.

尽管日本的家庭社会学历史悠久，但自1990年代以来，日本的社会学家庭研究发生了重大变化。本文讲述了日本家庭社会学的发展方式和现状，特别关注了过去三十年的发展。1990年代标志着日本家庭社会学历史的一个转折点，即建立了新的学术社会，并且在理论取向上发生了范式转变。家庭研究文章的趋势表明了定量研究的持续重要性，而定性研究在过去二十年的兴起中起着重要的作用。在回顾过去三十年的文献时，作者总结了实证研究的四个主要方面：（a）照料与家庭，（b）社会不平等与家庭，