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The aim of this paper is mainly to throw light on the general outline of the development of Family Sociology over the past 20 years, which is the task of this anniversary theme session. In retrospect, from the late 1980s, the preliminary period of the Japan Society of Family Sociology, to the present, there was a grouping period seeking a new paradigm of Family Sociology, as the Nuclear Family Paradigm and Group Theory Paradigm, on which postwar Family Sociology had been relying, lost momentum and persuasiveness. For these 20 years, extrication from a dependence on Nuclear Family Paradigm and Group Theory Paradigm and seeking a new paradigm have been the overriding issues for Family Sociology. Both sides of the institution and research dyad before the 1980s had maintained their cohesive force but they were divided and became widely dispersed. This paper plans to give an overview by depicting the outline of the past 20 years on both sides, considering thereafter the present circumstances and future prospects of current Family Sociology.

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is paper explains the purpose of this special issue and gives an overview of the 30-year history of the Japanese Journal of Family Sociology. A summary of the history of the Japanese Society of Family Sociology and research trends has been carried out at almost every ten-year milestone. However, concerning the Japanese Journal of Family Sociology, such summaries have never been undertaken. e reason is that the peer review system for submitted manuscripts, which is at the heart of the journal, is a closed door. However, the trend in Japanese academic societies is now moving in the direction of disclosing certain information about peer review systems. In response to these trends, this special issue was set up in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Japanese Journal of Family Sociology. Its history of 30 years can be divided into early, mid-term, and later periods, each spanning about ten years. In the early stage, the foundation of the editing and reviewing system was established, while in the mid-term period, the complicated and more extensive editing work that occurred due to publication twice a year was e ciently organized. A er that, in the progression towards internationalization and information disclosure, these editing systems were basically inherited. Based on this special issue, I hope that interest in recording the history of the journal will increase.

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