In this panel, which focuses on Japan and Korea, we argue that these previous analyses of Asian capitalisms and societies have underestimated or ignored in-depth analyses from the viewpoint of welfare, in adopting, at least implicitly, a perspective, inspired by the over-simplified typology of Esping Andersen, which can be qualified of “welfare orientalism” (Takegawa, 2005). Moreover, we argue that welfare is at the core of the evolving forms of capitalism in these three countries. Our interpretation is that institutional change in Asian capitalism is currently driven by changes in the social compromise. These two economies and societies are experiencing a series of changes that can be interpreted as the manifestations of internal contradictions, which require the development of new welfare systems to be overcome. Among these changes, this panel focuses on the ones that affected such institutions as family and firms, as well as ageing, and rising inequalities. More precisely, we develop case studies on Korean labor market; social welfare for people with disabilities in Japan; migration, international marriage and evolving form of families in Korea.