Abstract
Voluntary associations are recognized to play an important role to form social capital. However most studies about social capital and civil society have been focused on independent voluntary associations and less respect has been paid to the role of traditional neighborhood associations, a community network for mutual assistance, and volunteers serving for local safety and welfare cooperating with local governments in Japan. This article examines the state of neighborhood associations as a member of civil society and social trust network generator. Also it presents the notion of important role of neighborhood associations to form social capital.
