Study of a Social Movement from the Viewpoint of a Local Community

Abstract

With the erosion of communality and solidarity in local communities as a result of the administrative and fiscal reforms associated with the Neo-Liberal or the Koizumi structural reforms (the great Heisei merger), it is time to pose questions about the conclusions that can be drawn from these particular consequences of the processes of globalization. In this paper, I analyze the case of Maki Town, which hosted the first referendum held in Japan on the proposal to construct a nuclear power facility. A majority voted against the proposal and the nuclear power facility project was abandoned as a result of that ; however, in a subsequent referendum, the citizens of Maki Town approved their administrative amalgamation with Niigata City. After studying the narrative accounts of those who played a central role in organizing the referendum on the construction of a nuclear power facility, I conclude that in the study of social movements, it is vital to interpret such narratives in the context of the people's own experiences and their unique sense of reality, while paying scrupulous attention to the complex patterns of social interaction that exist within any given local community and that may compel us to reconsider what appears to be sociologically self-evident.