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Since the 1980s the study of civil society in Japan has gained in popularity among social scientists both in Europe and in the United States. Two ideas regarding the character of Japanese civil society prevail: The first is a postulated weakness of Japanese civil society, caused by a high number of small, informal groups alongside only a limited number professional ones — as well as difficult access to policymaking. The second idea is that Japanese civil society represents a vivid alternative political sphere, being particularly rich in social capital. This research note presents these arguments in their wider context, and highlights important changes in the orientation of research on civil society in Japan in relation to social and political developments occurring over time.

The impact of collective memory on mobilisation processes is an emerging research field in social movement studies. Adopting the perspective of "memory in activism", which tackles the question of how memories of previous struggles shape present social movements (as proposed by Ann Rigney), this research note provides a first idea of the eff ect of the collective memory of the violent 1960s "New Left" protest cycle in Japan on the most recent protest cycle triggered by the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. At their peak, these protests drew up to 200,000 participants during the summer of 2012 - a fact often downplayed in Western media coverage. As an access point to the study of the memory work pursued by and within the movement, this research note analyses written narratives of two activist intellectuals of the post-Fukushima protest cycle. The analysis shows a clear dissociation from the violent legacy of the 1960s that emphasises the distinctively peaceful character of the present protests and claims for them an equally important status in history.

Since the 1980s the study of civil society in Japan has gained in popularity among social scientists both in Europe and in the United States. Two ideas regarding the character of Japanese civil society prevail: The first is a postulated weakness of Japanese civil society, caused by a high number of small, informal groups alongside only a limited number professional ones — as well as difficult access to policymaking. The second idea is that Japanese civil society represents a vivid alternative political sphere, being particularly rich in social capital. This research note presents these arguments in their wider context, and highlights important changes in the orientation of research on civil society in Japan in relation to social and political developments occurring over time. (Asien/GIGA)