With a variety of contributors from throughout Japan, involved in a range of both established and emerging forms of civic engagement from NGOs, NPOs, to other less mainstream organizations, the Editors have compiled a comprehensive volume to give a thorough insiders’ look at the state of civil society in Japan.
Established forms of civic engagement include labor unions, and resident and citizens’ movements dating back centuries. In more recent years, Japan has seen a rise in third sector groups that parallels a rise worldwide, especially grassroots community organizations. From political engagement, to underground media, the authors of this volume closely examine Japans’ development in civic engagement.
The lessons gleaned from the successes and shortcomings of civic engagement in Japan have strong applications internationally. The detailed and comprehensive coverage of this volume make it a useful resource for understanding not only Japanese social and political issues, but also the emergence of third sector organizations worldwide—what works, what does not work as well, and what organizational structures are possible.
Author(s): Henk Vinken, Yuko Nishimura, Bruce White (auth.), Henk Vinken, Yuko Nishimura, Bruce L. J. White, Masayuki Deguchi (eds.)
Series: Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies
Edition: 1
Publisher: Springer-Verlag New York
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 300
Tags: Sociology, general; Social Policy; Regional and Cultural Studies; International Economics
Front Matter....Pages i-xiv
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Introduction....Pages 3-20
Civil Society in Japan: Democracy, Voluntary Action, and Philanthropy....Pages 21-40
Social Frameworks for Civil Society in Japan: In Search for a Japanese Model....Pages 41-64
Front Matter....Pages 66-66
The Rising Voice of Japan’s Community Unions....Pages 67-83
Collaborative Environmentalism in Japan....Pages 85-99
A New Epoch of Immigration for Japan: Directional Shift in Civic Organizational Support for Newcomer Settlement....Pages 101-116
Front Matter....Pages 118-118
Civic Engagement and Community Development Among Japan’s Burakumin....Pages 119-138
“I’m Deaf. This is Sign. Get Used to It.” Sign Language in Japan: The Vision and the Struggle....Pages 139-152
Media and Civic Engagement in Japan....Pages 153-169
Front Matter....Pages 172-172
The Soft Advocacy of Music Fandom: Japanese Youth and the Building of Civic Infrastructures of the Mind....Pages 173-188
Re-imagining the Relationship Between Japan and Korea: Popular Culture and Civic Engagement....Pages 189-202
Fun with Consumers: Enjoying Anticonsumerism in Japan....Pages 203-224
Front Matter....Pages 226-226
Conclusions: From Politicization to Culturalization of Civic Engagement....Pages 227-238
Epilogue: Toward a New Legal Form for Civic Engagement....Pages 239-246
Back Matter....Pages 247-261
