Two ostensibly contradictory forces operate in Japanese society, as is the case in other industrialized societies. On the one hand, it is subject to many centrifugal forces that tend to diversify its structural arrangements, lifestyles, and value orientations. On the other hand, a range of centripetal forces drive Japanese society towards homogeneity and uniformity. This chapter recapitulates these two forces from a slightly different angle. The first section of the chapter examines the vibrancy of Japan’s civil society as the centrifugal drive. The second part investigates the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 and its aftermath as a concrete test case of the interplay between civil society and the establishment. Finally, the third part attempts to locate a variety of forms of control in an analytical framework and to summarize their features as the centripetal force of Japanese society.

Civil Society

The liveliness of grassroots culture in Japan, detailed throughout this book, reflects the vitality of its civil society, the sphere of voluntary collective activities carried out with a significant degree of autonomy from the power of the state and the forces of the market. The characteristics of Japan’s civil society have been a subject of intense debate in recent years, pointing to the possibility that new forms of voluntary association might be emerging.