Abstract
Nonprofit Organization Law (1998) and Public Long Term Care Insurance Law (1999)have stimulated the rapid growth of Nonprofit Organizations in Japan. This paper discusses why and how this took place. After examining the theory, definition and functional analysis by Ralph Kramer on Voluntary Organizations, I developed a categorization of welfare NPOs' functions. They are (1) vanguard function, (2) improver/advocate, (3) value guardian and, (4) service provision. Then I applied this categorization to the “Care Nonprofits in Japan ( defined as NPOs providing care services under the Public Long Term Care Insurance Law ) ”. Care NPOs have typical characteristics and functions of Kramer's theory. Why has this happened in the field of welfare and Public Long term Care Insurance? My view is that most of successful Care NPOs have begun providing voluntary care services for the elderly in community before NPO law and Public Long Term Care Insurance Law. They emerged outside Japanese statutory Social Welfare system, and have had reputation for responding to unmet needs in the community. They developed different organizational characters and salient leadership styles. Therefore, if the institutional and legal infrastructure had established, Care NPOs will assume new roles in the future. I also discuss the problems and challenges the NPOs currently face in Japan. Comparing the rise of research paper regarding NPOs in the US, I overlook and discuss the research agendas of Welfare Sociology in this field.
