Chair: Ruth M. Grubel, Kwansei Gakuin University

During the 1990s and particularly in recent years, there has been greater political activism in Japan by citizen-organized NGOs and local governments. Addressing the current debate in political science on the role of civil society in politics, this panel examines the ways in which local and non-state actors have become agents of change and participants in Japan’s internationalization in the 1990s.

Apichai Shipper’s paper deals with the internationalization of Japan’s population and how NGOs have formed in response to new problems arising from the increasing number of foreign workers in Japan. He argues that these new citizen groups, often with the support of local government, comprise a new form of political engagement in Japan. Turning to the everyday life of Japanese consumers, sociologist Ruth Grubel shows how consumer cooperatives in Japan, through a variety of international-oriented activities, serve as agents of internationalization among their members and in the local community. One of Japan’s leading scholars on local government, Toshiya Kitayama examines local government activism on issues with international implications using the institutional structure of local-national government relations as a framework. Finally, Kim Reimann’s paper looks at the outward internationalization of Japanese society and focuses on the increasing number of Japanese international NGOs that work in developing countries. She argues that Japanese government support for these NGOs—a new development in the 1990s—reflect the incorporation of international norms in state policy.

Ted Gilman, a specialist in urban revitalization in Japan, is well versed in the panel’s subject matter and is an ideal discussant.

Apichai W. Shipper, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Although the percentage of foreign population in Japan is small in comparison to other industrialized countries, about 200 NGOs exist to help foreign workers and advocate for their rights and welfare. Unlike other industrialized countries where co-ethnics take the lead, Japanese people established most of these groups. Given Japan’s insecurity and skepticism toward foreigners, why do the Japanese people establish these support groups to help foreign migrants in their midst? How are these support groups helping foreign workers? What impact are they making on the Japanese society?

The central argument advanced in my research is that the situation and conditions for foreign workers vary considerably according to their legal status and popular images. The "illegal" and most "disreputable" foreign workers encounter serious labor problems and usually are the ones that seek help from these NGOs. These support groups help foreign workers overcome their labor problems. Moreover, they help reconstruct social conditions for foreign workers. To accomplish these tasks, members of these NGOs employ a new form of political engagement, which I call "associative activism" or the establishing of secondary associations and the building of a community of marginalized and socially conscious associative activists. They create an extensive network and attempt to (re)educate the Japanese public about the actual social conditions of foreign workers in Japan through their newsletters. Some find powerful allies with local governments, which provide some of their funding. Associative activism, thus, provides both immediate improvement of social conditions for foreign workers and a forum to bring real changes in Japan’s political arena.

Ruth M. Grubel, Kwansei Gakuin University

In spite of official government pronouncements on the benefits of internationalization and various policies to promote global awareness in Japan, critics have noted that insular perspectives and even anti-foreign practices still prevail in many parts of the country. There are, however, a variety of organizations and groups which provide information and programs in support of international awareness and goodwill, including those which exist mainly for other purposes. The consumer cooperatives, for example, are successful providers of goods and services in many parts of Japan, but they also promote international exchanges, peace activities, and information on a variety of international issues. The significance of the cooperatives’ involvement is that the internationalization is integrated into the process of the members’ daily lives and the activities of local consumer organizations. As a result, cooperative members who may not otherwise choose to learn about international issues are introduced to them in the co-op newsletters, and during their visits to the co-op stores. This paper will explore the types and scope of international efforts by the consumer cooperatives, and will attempt to evaluate the impact of these efforts on the attitudes of the members.

Toshiya Kitayama, Kwansei Gakuin University

Despite its highly centralized image, the Japanese government in fact has an institutional structure that enables local governments to affect national policies and even foreign policies. Since national and local functions are not clearly defined, local government can be a vocal participant in national policymaking. Recent examples of local government activism on issues with international implications include Kochi prefecture’s policy to request foreign battleships to submit proof that they are not armed with nuclear weapons before entering Kochi port.

The ongoing plan for decentralization in Japan attempts to clearly define the national function by abolishing agency delegated functions. Although these functions are considered one of the control mechanisms of national government, agency delegated functions can be a means through which local government raise an international issue in the national political arena. The paper looks at examples of such tactics, such as moves by the governor of Okinawa to try to include the US army’s continued use of the land in Okinawa’s agency delegated functions and in that way directly include local government participation in policymaking regarding the US military bases in Japan. While they are not always successful, such examples are evidence of increasing activism by local actors on foreign policy issues.

This paper argues that, because they are situated in a specific central-local institution, local governments in Japan are still important actors in national policymaking. It attempts to show various ways in which they have been active in the postwar period.

Kim Reimann, Harvard University

This paper examines the evolution of Japanese international development NGOs—NGOs dedicated to improving conditions and responding to crises in developing countries. The paper first presents empirical data showing how the number of such groups has increased in the past decade in Japan and compares Japanese groups to international development NGOs in other advanced industrialized societies. The basic questions that the paper will address are: why have international development NGOs formed and developed more slowly in Japan in comparison to other OECD nations, and what accounts for the sudden growth in numbers and size of these NGOs in the past decade?