Local Political Participation in Japan: A Case Study of Oita

"While many Japanese citizens participate in specific political acts such as signing candidate support cards, attending political rallies, or directly contacting politicians, they largely do not view these activities as political participation. Kida examines why this is the case; whether there is a connection between negative views of politics and how Japanese people self-identify their political participation; how Japanese citizens attempt to exact change or influence policy; how the government engages citizens in political participation; and the relationship between citizens' attitudes towards government, and levels of political participation. Kida explores political participation on the local level, to better understand the sources of political attitudes. While participation studies have been conducted in Japan, most are centered in large urban areas, focusing on either extreme forms of participation such as protests, or concentrated on single issue participation such as the environmental or women's movements. This book, in contrast, explores what every day 'regular' in the system political participation looks like in a small traditional Japanese city - using Oita, a small city in Kyushu, as a case study. It focuses especially on the role local institutions and politicians play in influencing the kinds of participation available and subsequently, the attitudes created about participation"--

Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- List of figures and tables -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Political actors: city council composition, town meetings, and other contributing factors to citizen/politician relationships and attitudes -- 3 Institutionalized participatory mechanisms -- 4 Koenkai (personal support organization) -- 5 Lowering of the voting age -- 6 Survey results -- 7 Discussion, recommendations, and conclusion -- Appendix A - Oita city political attitudes, opinions, and experiences survey - English version -- Index

Political actors : city council composition, town meetings, and other contributing factors to citizen/politician relationships and attitudes -- Institutionalized participatory mechanisms -- Koenkai (personal support organization) -- Lowering of the minimum voting age -- Survey results -- Discussion, recommendations, and conclusion.