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Transformation of Japan's Civil Society Landscape

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 March 2016

Mary Alice Haddad
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Abstract

Japan's civil society is being transformed as more people volunteer for advocacy and professional nonprofit organizations. In the US context, this trend has been accompanied by a decline in participation in traditional organizations. Does the rise in new types of nonprofit groups herald a decline of traditional volunteering in Japan? This article argues that while changes in civil rights, political opportunity structure, and technology have also taken place in Japan, they have contributed to the rise of new groups without causing traditional organizations to decline, because Japanese attitudes about civic responsibility have continued to support traditional volunteering.

Keywords

citizenshipcivil societydemocracyJapannonprofit organizationvolunteering
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of East Asian Studies , Volume 7 , Issue 3 , December 2007 , pp. 413 - 437
Copyright
Copyright © East Asia Institute 

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References

Notes

1. For the number of NPOs, see 2000 Whitepaper on the National Lifestyle, www5.cao.go.jp/seikatsu/whitepaper/h16/01_zu/zu301090.html (in Japanese; accessed June 25, 2007); for the numbers of volunteers see www.stat.go.jp/data/shakai/2001/kodo/zenkoku/zuhyou/a075.xls (in Japanese; accessed June 25, 2007).Google Scholar

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47. Interview, 2002.Google Scholar

48. Thirty of the thirty-six volunteers in traditional membership organizations I interviewed in 2001–2002 gave obligation to the community and/or community members as the main reason they joined; this was in contrast to reasons related to individual interests or personal fulfillment, which topped the list of reasons given by volunteers in newer groups.Google Scholar

49. See chart 3-2-2, www5.cao.go.jp/seikatsu/whitepaper/h16/01_zu/zu302020.html (accessed August 16, 2005); and chart 3-2-17, www5.cao.go.jp/seikatsu/whitepaper/h16/01_zu/zu302170.html (accessed August 15, 2005) for the activities of volunteer associations and NPOs.Google Scholar

50. See Haddad, , “Community Determinants,” for more on how these sources of support encourage (or discourage) community participation.Google Scholar