Why is political participation among the Japanese at such a low level compared to other countries? Why has it continued to decline over the past 30 years? Why has nonconventional and protest participation other than voting also consistently declined, unlike in other countries? As a new theoretical explanation, this article focuses on the effect of the negative evaluations of past large-scale social movements on the level of political participation including volunteering and donations. We hypothesize that Japanese people may be averse to political participation due to the negative image of past social movements projected onto political participation in general, with the exception of voting participation. Through a quantitative analysis of our original survey data based on multiple imputation methods to address the missing value problem, this article finds that negative evaluations of the struggle against the 1960 revision of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty and the 2015 protests against the enactment of the Peace and Security Act are negatively correlated with the level of political participation other than voting. We conclude that negative memories of past social movements discourage Japanese people from participating in politics and civil society.

This study examines a psychological sense of community consisting of three factors: F1 Group philosophy and member motivation, F2 Contribution and being needed, F3 Comfort and belonging. We use this scale as a new measure of organizational social capital within NPOs, assess members' attachment to the organization, well-being, subjective health, and commitment to community activities, and test the validity of the scale. From 2016 to 2018, we surveyed 2,736 NPO members and analyzed the survey data using the ordered probit model. We conclude that all three factors showed significant positive effects on members' attachment to the organization, well-being, subjective health, and commitment to community activities, with an exception; the positive effect of the reported comfort level on subjective well-being is insignificant. The data also shows that the volunteers have a lower level of F2 than paid workers, and relatively new NPO members have a lower F2 than experienced members who work for NPOs for a longer period of time. In addition, NPO members with long work hours per month have lower subjective health, and if their work hours exceed 100 per month, both members' F1 and F3 levels get lower.

This report reviews citizen legislation and the practice of NPO advocacy activities through the activities of the Japan Assistance Dog Information Center, an authorized NPO, which has been involved in the enactment and establishment of the Act on Assistance Dogs for the Physically Disabled, which has been in effect for 20 years this year. The Act on Assistance Dogs for Persons with Disabilities was proposed as a legislative bill by the Diet Members' Caucus on Assistance Dogs. In Japan, where there is no system for citizens to directly request legislation, legislation by lawmakers is a major means of citizens' legislation, and the Assistance Dog Law is a typical example of such legislation. The Japan Assistance Dog Information Center, which has been involved in this law from its enactment to its establishment, has been responsible for the "big system" of enacting the law as well as the implementation of local "small systems" to support it. As a regional information co-management entity, the Japan Assistance Dog Information Center is practicing NPO advocacy to present the voices that contribute to public interest, which emanate from those with weak information output, in the public sphere of information. Under the circumstances that the refusal of accompanying assistance dogs has not yet been eliminated, the Japan Assistance Dog Information Center will be required to fulfill its accountability to the public as a complementary existence to the government.

According to Miyamoto (2012, 2015), the transition to adulthood presents unique challenges for young people. During the industrialization era, there was a single, sequential, and continuous transition route from childhood to adulthood, but since the late 1990s, the transition period has become longer and more complex, and transition patterns have become more individualized, diverse, and fluid. The purpose of this study is to investigate the meaning and potential of a place to support young people who are hesitating in the process of transitioning to adulthood through a survey of the actual situation of young people who gather at Change Makers' College (hereinafter referred to as "CMC"). The survey revealed the following four meanings of CMC: "It is an environment where one is forced to confront oneself and others," "Awareness of one's own way of life is born," "One always feels connected to others," and "Life satisfaction is improved." As future issues, it is necessary to continue to investigate whether CMC can be an effective tool for all types of young people, whether they have achieved social independence in the real world after participating in CMC, and what kind of efforts on the part of the program operators have produced these results.

Japanese traditional food Tofu culture has been passed down the next generations though food education by the local small manufacturers and dealers. However, as the number of small manufacturers and dealers decreases and the number of companies centered on manufacturing wholesalers increases, we face the difficulties to convey Tofu culture in the local community. This study investigates food education outline and effect of activities to develop Tofu industry, by the case study of Japan Tofu Meister Association. We focus on the case study what effect this association provide in the local community by Tofu Meister course. Analysis method was conducted by logic model after collection of public information and interview the founder by the semi-structured interview. As a result, we found they provided 4,760 Tofu Meisters, added value in the community between Tofu Meisters and local actors, collaboration and co-creation of local Tofu companies, and other development effects such as food education in education fields.