Civil Society in Japan Reconsidered

Civil Society and Japan ’ S Dysfunctional Democracy

The Japan Myth Reconsidered

The image of Japan today is ambiguous. On the one hand there is the rather threatening image of the samurai country that turned out to be, for some mysterious reason, an economic giant; on the other there is the attractive model of the superindustrial society that has successfully solved many of the difficult social problems still being faced elsewhere. The former is a popular view, promoted by...

Civil Society Reconsidered: The Durable Nature and Community Structure of Collective Civic Action

Simplified Civil Procedure in Japan

Japanese civil procedure covers four types of simplified procedures: ordinary proceedings in summary courts; actions on bills, notes, and checks; actions on small claims; and payment orders. Actions on small claims were newly introduced as civil procedure in 1996 to promote public access to justice. Summary courts have jurisdiction over these actions. The use of actions on small claims once inc...

The Effects of ‘Social Expectation’ on the Development of Civil Society in Japan

This paper proposes a theoretical explanation for the impact of ‘social expectation’ on the growth of civil society in Japan. Why has civil society developed as it has in Japan? Contrary to the image of Japan as a ‘strong and controlling’ nation-state, we find that private citizens—the nongovernmental organization (NGO) leaders, scholars on community planning, and younger liberal politicians—se...