Civil society in Japan is a large and multifaceted sphere with a diversity of actors pursuing various social, political, and economic objectives. The sphere has experienced major waves of transformation in the post-1945 era, especially in the 1990s when volunteering and nonprofit activities came to the forefront of political and popular attention. This handbook brings together twenty-one leading experts to provide comprehensive and up-to-date analyses of civil society in Japan. What is the history of Japanese civil society and how has it evolved in recent decades? Who have been the key participants and what are their objectives? How have international actors and conditions influenced civil society in Japan? More broadly, what do recent developments in Japanese civil society tell us about the condition of democracy, state-society relations, and the public sphere in the country? And how might Japanese civil society develop into the future? The contributions to the handbook offer innovative perspectives based on the most-recent fieldwork and data available. The handbook is divided into three sections: Institutions, Justice and Transnationalism. Topics include nonprofit organizations, volunteering, philanthropy, new media, gender, pacifism, nuclear power, territorial politics, international cooperation and transnational solidarity. The volume will be valuable for scholars in both research and teaching as well as essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the diversity and vibrancy of Japanese civil society today.
- Cover
- Table of Contents
- Contributors
- Abbreviations
- Acknowledgments and Conventions
- Simon Avenell and Akihiro Ogawa
- Introduction: Civil Society in Japan
- Simon Avenell and Akihiro Ogawa
- 1 Conceptualizations
- Conceptualizations: The Idea of Civil Society in Japan
- Part 1: Institutions
- 2 Non-Profit Organizations
- Have NPOs Taken Root in Japanese Society? Public Perceptions,
- 3 Volunteering
- Volunteering with Two Faces in Japan
- 4 Grassroots Advocacy
- The Ethics of Care and Small Grassroots Minority and Civic Gr
- 5 Philanthropy
- Defining and Advancing Japanese Philanthropy: Historical and Religio-Philosophical Perspectives
- 6 Social Enterprise
- New Trends Among Social Enterprises in Japan: The Potential of Policy for “Social Firms”
- 7 Conservative Civil Society
- “Small Membership with Strong Advocacy”: Conservative Civil Society in Japan
- 8 Media
- Civil Society and Newspaper Journalism: The Nuclear Power Debate in Japan
- 9 New Media
- Social Media Platforms and Civil Society in Japan
- Part 2: Justice
- 10 Pacifism
- Continuity and Change in Japanese Peace Activism: Two Challenges to the 2015 Abe “War Laws”
- 11 Okinawa
- Contemporary Okinawan Civil Society and Exploring Environmental Justice
- 12 Nuclear Power
- Rethinking Civil Society—State Relations in Japan 13 Years after the Fukushima Accident
- Daniel P. Aldrich and Toshiaki Yoshida
- 13 Environment
- Environmental Activism in Japan After 3.11
- 14 Citizen Science
- 15 Gender
- Gender Inequality in Japanese Civil Society
- Part 3: Transnationalisms
- 16 Transnational Solidarity
- Antinuclear Activism: The Case of No Nukes Asia Forum
- 17 Japan-China Relations
- The Strengths of Japanese Civil Society: The Views of Japan-China Civil Society Catalysts
- 18 Territorial Politics
- Civil Society and Territorial Disputes
- 19 International Cooperation
- International Cooperation on Disasters
- Chika Watanabe and Shuhei Kimura
- Index
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