<p>This article offers a theoretical and critical examination of the possibilities for de-neoliberalising youth work as a democratic and emancipatory practice. Drawing on comparative insights from Europe and Japan, it analyses how neoliberal governance has reshaped youth work, youth policy, and the everyday conditions of young people. Rather than presenting new empirical data, the paper adopts a critical review approach to synthesise scholarship on neoliberalism, youth work, and youth policy, with particular attention to practice-oriented contexts. The analysis identifies four interconnected dynamics through which neoliberal rationalities operate in youth work: an emphasis on efficiency and performance measurement, the expansion of risk management frameworks, the erosion of professional autonomy, and the restructuring of the sector through competition. These dynamics are examined across European youth work policies and practices and further illustrated through the case of Japanese youth policy, where labour market adaptation and self-responsibility have become dominant organising principles. By integrating these discussions, the article argues that neoliberalism functions as a governing rationality that operates transnationally, shaping youth work at the levels of policy, practice, and professional identity. At the same time, it argues that democracy and leisure constitute the core values underpinning de-neoliberalising youth work, sustained through traditions of voluntary participation and relational engagement that continue to offer points of resistance. Rather than proposing prescriptive solutions, the paper explores conditions for reorienting youth work toward democratic and emancipatory values, advancing a transnational perspective beyond the predominantly Anglophone literature.</p>