Article ID: NPR-D-24-00001
While the advocacy of public interest groups is important for democracy, the formation of such groups is inherently difficult. Consequently, various theories have been developed regarding the conditions that support the formation of public interest groups. However, the major theories that have been theorized primanily based on American cases are unable to explain the organization of such groups in countries which lack similar conditions. With this in mind, this paper takes up the formation of the Consumers Union of Japan (CUJ) as a case study of the formation of public interest groups in Japan, analyzes its history in detail, and then explores its theoretical implications. Although the CUJ faced collective action problems, changes in consumer administration were the catalyst for the emergence of various "grassroots movements" in regions, which led to the establishment of CUJ as a national advocacy organization. From this historical experience, we derive a causal mechanism that differs from conventional theories about how government institutions and policies promote changes in civil society, leading a model of group support policies that assist organizing people in a variety of ways and establish membership-based advocacy.
