Structural Features and Temporal Shifts in Parliamentary Discourse on the Community-based Symbiotic Society

A Quantitative Textual Analysis of the Proceedings of the National Diet of Japan

Abstract

This study examines how the concept of Chiiki Kyōsei Shakai (Community-based Symbiotic Society) has been articulated in the Japanese National Diet and how its lexical structure has evolved over time. Speech records containing the term were extracted from Diet proceedings from 1947 to 2025, and frequency analysis, period-based comparison, and co-occurrence network analysis were conducted using KH Coder. The findings indicate that the concept developed through three phases: a conceptual and exploratory phase, a phase of institutionalization and legal reform, and an operational and implementation phase. Across these stages, the associated vocabulary shifted from value- and ideaoriented expressions to terminology linked to systems and institutional arrangements. Words such as support and community consistently appeared throughout the period, suggesting that the concept was not confined to a specific target group. Overall, the results suggest that Chiiki Kyosei Shakai has been used in connection with different policy contexts over time within parliamentary discourse.