Page 12 RAIN Spring 1986 Citizens’ Activities in Japan One important difference between American and Japanese citizen activity is the near absence in Japan ofa nonprofit sector. The nonprofit sector in this country, with roots in religious secular social work, has evolved a substantial niche in the economy—at least large by Japanese standards. In Japan there is littlefavorable legal structureforforming nongovernment organizations (NGOs). There are no tax breaks or special mailing privilegesfor citizens organizations. Many ofthe social services performed by nonprofit organizations in this country are performed in Japan by local government units or are unncessary because ofstrongerfamily ties. One consequence of this is that Japanese nongovernmental organizations are more dependeni on volunteers, and havefewerfinancial resources and minimal offices. Most activists volunteer their time while workingfor corporations or universities. Only a handful offoundations exist to provide supportfor non-governmental organizations. Mostfoundation support goes to universitiesfor research and development. Although grassroots groups in Japan have many differences, there are some commonly held values. In an article in the Japanese Journal, Human, Tomi Naki describes several key issues that citizens groups worked on in the 1970s. These issues include thefollowing: thefear and anxiety about pollution based on the well-publicized appearance of pollution-related diseases; concern over governmental and corporate secrecy; apathy ofparty politics; desirefor more local self-determination; and the problems created by importing of American culture since the World War, especially its impact on agriculture,foodpolicy, and nutrition. In thefollowing piece. Shin Yoshida lays out one way of viewing the citizens' actions groups in Japan. In 1983, Shin did an extensive study of citizens' actions groupsfor the Toyota Foundation, “Citizen's Activities and the Supporting Role of Foundations." He concludes that these groups have several fundemental problems: lack offinancial support including legal tax breaks, lack ofgovernmental support toward citizen action, lack ofcapable people and information, lack ofadequate space for offices, and inabilityfor the groups to meet with ordinary citizens, or to communicate with other groups in the same area. The study is groundworkfor Toyota's expected increase in funding to citizens' groups. After Shin's piece come several articles describing major issue areas in Japan,followed by a sampling ofgrassroots groups. Recently Shin wrote to me and described a new book: "An Alternative Map of Japan,from Yaso-sha (34 Naka-Machi, Nara-shi, Japan 631) contains 156 alternative spaces in Japan. It howeverfocuses too much on agriculture and little on others."—SJ General Types of Japanese Citizens’ Groups by Shin Yoshida Citizens’ groups in Japan can be categorized into three types, by the kind of relationship the group has with local and federal government and business. Local governments are particularly important because they provide many services that might be provided by social service and voluntary organizations in the United States. However, the local government services do not satisfy all the needs of the people, and there is great need for citizens to act on their own. The first type of citizens’ group consists of those working with or for ^e government and business. This includes neighborhood organizations, women’s organizations, and groups for the elderly and youth. There are about 1.2 million groups of this type. The second kind of group consists of those that fight against or oppose the policies and actions by what they see as the establishment. Struggles at the Narita International Airport site and the Minamata Mercury poisoning site are two of the more famous examples. Most of the groups in this category are involved in pollution, energy, transportation, peace, and human rights issues. The third type of group is neither working for nor fighting directly against anything. They say things like “Think critically, act practically,” or “Think ideally, act pragmatically,” and “Think globally, act locally.” When these people put themselves into action, rather than confronting face-to-face with the problems, they tend to start from themselves and people around them. They know that, in order to create a better Japan, they have to change themselves first—start small and maybe stay small. Some of the activities in this category include: international development cooperation, peace, food and agriculture concerns, women’s rights, and alternative space and information services. O O The Other Japan
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz