Abstract
This study investigates whether, among the Japanese people, a wide range of social strata participate in civic activities. Empirical studies on the determinants of civic participation among the Japanese people have suggested that the tendency for individuals of a predominantly higher socioeconomic status to participate in civic activities has decreased in recent years. Can we conclude, as contemporary civil society theories have assumed, that this decreased tendency equates to the phenomenon of the “unskewing” of participants in civic activities? To answer this question, this study examines trends in the correlation between socioeconomic status and civic participation by a comparative analysis of random SSM1995 and SSP-I2010 data representative of the Japanese people.
The main findings are as follows. First, education had a positive effect on engagement in civic activities in both 1995 and 2010. Second, managers and people with high incomes tended to participate in 1995, whereas no such tendency was observed in 2010. Third, unemployed individuals were more likely to participate in 1995 and less likely to participate in 2010. These results suggest that the phenomenon of the “unskewing” of participants in civic activities has not necessarily occurred, and that less-educated and unemployed people are less likely to participate in civic engagement today.
