From Hōshi to Borantia: Transformations of Volunteering in Japan and Implications for Foreign Policy (original) (raw)

Contemporary Japanese Volunteerism: Same Concept, New Typologies

This paper presents follow-up research that continues on and updates previous research that utilized a volunteer space conceptualization to identify the parameters of Japanese volunteerism, volunteer activities and volunteers. The present research uses survey results similar to those of the previous research that identify 20-plus volunteer parameters, position volunteerism in relation to other social institutions with respect to usefulness in addressing and relation to social problems and activities, and develops four updated volunteer typologies. The conclusions assert that while the fundamental notions, views and interpretations of volunteerism in Japan are consistent with those of two decades ago, notable changes, for example the increasing viability of, as well as tension accompanying disaster volunteerism and the increasing importance of sport-event volunteerism, can be discerned. In addition, the paper offers four emerging volunteer typologies: the idealistic volunteer, the pragmatic social welfare/social problem volunteer, the special circumstance volunteer, and the personal advantage volunteer. The paper seeks to establish a continuing trajectory for the changes taking place in Japanese society's conception of volunteerism, volunteer activity and volunteers over time.

What Motivates Japan’s International Volunteers? Categorizing Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCVs)

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 2019

The literature on international volunteer motivation has highlighted mainly Western cases, while almost ignoring Asian volunteers. Through an analysis of the motivations of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCVs), this study aims to identify who they are and to contribute to our understanding of individual behavior in relation to international volunteering. This is the first quantitative study of their motivation, and we surveyed them using a series of questionnaires. We obtained 1507 responses from the volunteers, and a cluster analysis of the revealed motives categorized them into six types, labeled as: (I) curious; (II) business-minded; (III) development assistance; (IV) quest for oneself; (V) change-oriented; and (VI) altruist. The results show that each of these groups tend to have a different set of motives, and these can be characterized according to their socio-demographic and behavioral information. The results confirm that JOCVs have the same altruistic and egoistic motivations that have been observed in the Western studies. From a practical perspective, our six clusters of volunteers match the three purposes of the JOCV program, and show that, to a certain extent, the program has been successful in recruiting young Japanese people. Moreover, the classifications will be helpful when the JOCV Secretariat managers wish to target specific types of volunteers for special recruiting and training.

Transformation of Japan's Civil Society Landscape

Journal of East Asian Studies, 2007

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.

From Undemocratic to Democratic Civil Society: Japan's Volunteer Fire Departments

The Journal of Asian Studies, 2010

How do undemocratic civic organizations become compatible with democratic civil society? How do local organizations merge older patriarchal, hierarchical values and practices with newer more egalitarian, democratic ones? This article tells the story of how volunteer fire departments have done this in Japan. Their transformation from centralized war instruments of an authoritarian regime to local community safety organizations of a full-fledged democracy did not happen overnight. A slow process of demographic and value changes helped the organizations adjust to more democratic social values and practices. The way in which these organizations have made the transition offers important lessons for emerging democracies around the world.

The Difference that Security Makes:The Politics of Citizenship in Postwar Japan in a Comparative Perspective

Social Science Japan Journal , 2013

Upon dissolution of modern empires, post-imperial states came to different decisions about the legal status to be assigned to residents from their former colonies. Some states preserved their de facto citizenship rights, whereas other states excluded them from the new polity. Japan opted for the latter. It instituted an exclusive citizenship regime, turning (most of) its former colonial residents into foreigners.With an eye on the comparative context, this paper examines this postwar process of policymaking in light of two relevant theories—Rogers Brubaker’s ideational theory andThomas Janoski’s regime theory.Its findings support Janoski’s approach:the degree of incorporation of former colonial subjects explains Japan’s decision better. However, the paper also argues that the exclusion ofTaiwanese and particularly Korean residents was not simply determined by their inadequate institutional integration but occurred rather because they were judged to pose a security threat.

Ritual, Resistance, Rebellion? Disaster Volunteer Experiences in Northeastern Japan

Contemporary Japanese society is undergoing a gradual shift of values and modes of work and life. Deriving small-scale temporary happiness from activities that make sense to individuals has replaced stability secured by lifetime employment. Disaster volunteer narratives and lifestyles illustrate this change. Drawing on ethnographic data from fieldwork in Miyagi and Iwate Prefecture, this study explores the broad range of meanings that doing

Local Levels of Participation in Japan's Foreign Aid and Cooperation

Asian Survey, 2014

This study will examine the determinants of local Japanese government involvement in decentralized international cooperation by taking an actor-specific approach to three outstanding cases: Shiga Prefecture, Kitakyushu City, and Yokohama City. It will look beneath the aggregate relationships to more qualitative evidence of localized motives for Japanese cooperation with developing countries.

Civil society and Japan's dysfunctional democracy

Journal of Developing Societies, 2004

Japan has long been described as a dysfunctional democracy due to the limited role of grassroots movements compared to other industrialized countries. This paper critiques the notion of an Asian path to democracy in Japan and outlines how industrial maturation and globalization have given rise to new forms of social activism there. The historical growth and development of Japan's grassroots movements is analyzed, with a focus on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) involved in international development. The paper examines in detail the push and pull factors behind the growth and influence of these NGOs, and examines the new forms of state-society relations that have emerged as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and NGOs begin to collaborate. Finally, the paper assesses significance of grassroots activism for democratic invigoration in Japan and beyond.