1 This is the post-print version (final draft post-refereeing) of the article published as: Sumino, T. (2014) ‘Escaping the curse of economic self-interest: An individual-level analysis of public support for the welfare state in Japan’, Journal of Social Policy, 43(1): 109–133. doi: 10.1017/S0047279413000755 Escaping the curse of economic self-interest: An individual-level analysis of public support for the welfare state in Japan Takanori Sumino Abstract Despite the general consensus that individualistic utility-optimising behavior reduces popular support for the welfare state, we still know little about how and to what extent such negative effects of self-interested calculus are mediated by other attitudinal factors, particularly solidaristic values and principles. Using individual-level data from the Japanese General Social Survey, this study seeks not only to qualify existing findings on welfare preference formation but also to explore the hypothesis that the negative impact of economic self-interest is offset or moderated by solidarity-oriented values and beliefs. The author finds that the oft-made claim that material interest and individualistic ideologies undermine welfare support can be replicated in the context of Japan. The results also provide evidence in support of the liberal nationalist contention that popular discourse on welfare is significantly directed by a sense of national unity. Data from Japan also elucidate the fact that a strong sense of social trust significantly weakens the salience of self-oriented cost-benefit calculations. These findings suggest that solidarity-related variables such as national identity and interpersonal trustworthiness should receive more attention in future research on welfare attitudes. Keywords: economic self-interest; welfare state; economic individualism; national identity; social trust Introduction Public support towards social welfare programmes for the less well-off is the essential basis for a robust welfare state in advanced democracies (Brooks and Manza, 2006). Without shared empathy for the principles of social citizenship, which are the core elements of the welfare state (Marshall, 1950), it is difficult to sustain any redistributive government schemes. This is particularly important for advanced industrialised democracies where the gap between the haves and the have-nots has widened substantially in recent years. As reported in Divided We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising (OECD, 2011), the average Gini coefficient in OECD member countries rose by nearly 10 per cent over the past two decades, and the average wage of the richest group is now almost nine times higher than that of the poorest group. Taylor-Gooby’s (2011) recent work suggests that greater disparity in the allocation of material interests and opportunities can lead to public distrust in government institutions, which implies a potential thereat to the foundation of social solidarity on which the welfare state is based. Furthermore, if individual policy preferences are motivated by one’s economic position (Romer, 1975; Roberts, 1977; Meltzer and Richard, 1981), greater income stratification would result in serious social cleavages in political interest and pervasive class-based politics. In this context, the question as to how individuals shape their perceptions and preferences towards redistributive policies, which is directly linked with the legitimacy of the welfare state, is timely and of growing