40 ソシオロゴス　NO.32　／ 2008 1　Introduction Various aspects of Japanese social policy ‒ including the pension system, health care services, family policy and child protection institutions ‒ have in the recent past been subjected to thorough analysis by foreign scholars of Japan (Campbell 1992; Goodman 2000, 2002; Peng 2002; Kasza 2006; Schoppa 2006). However, neither international nor Japanese researchers have yet provided systematic scholarly accounts of Japan’ s new activation policies for young adults. It is clear that the Japanese state ‒ via partnerships with civil society groups ‒ has now indeed adopted some responsibility for the welfare of young (unmarried) adults at risk of joblessness and social exclusion. Various novel initiatives have been announced under the Plan to Foster a Spirit of Independence and Challenge in Youth (Wakamono Jiritsu Chōsen Puran) since 2003. While labour market activation has been portrayed as the main objective, in practice the new programmes also furnish extensive social support. This paper takes as its first goal to explore a remarkable component of the above policy package known as the Youth Independence Camp ( wakamono jiritsu juku ). While this residential three-month programme ‒ the stated aim of which is to provide training in ‘everyday life’ and basic work skills and to guide youth to suitable jobs ‒ targets only a small subset of socially excluded youth in Japan, it demands attention Introducing the Youth Independence Camp How a new social policy is reconfiguring the public-private boundaries of social provision in Japan Tuukka TOIVONEN The goal of this paper is to explore a notable new policy for young adults known as the Youth Independence Camp ( wakamono jiritsu juku ) and to consider in an open-ended fashion how it influences the public-private boundaries ‒ the shift of which is ongoing ‒ of social provision for youth in Japan. Who is this unconventional programme intended for, and what are its overt and covert objectives? Although a full appraisal of the situation is still premature, we find that the Independence Camp and other recent youth policies indeed signify a qualitative shift in social support for young adults in Japan. However, the risk of social exclusion remains essentially privatised, i.e. to be shouldered by the individual and his/her family rather than the state or other institutions. 08sociologos32_toivonen.indd 40 2008/06/09 12:58:05