Configuration and Locality of the Third Sector Dealing with a Social Problem: A Case Study of the Reconstruction Assistance After the Great East Japan Earthquake

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  • Sugano Taku
    Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution

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  • 社会問題への対応からみるサードセクターの形態と地域的展開―東日本大震災の復興支援を事例として―
  • シャカイ モンダイ エ ノ タイオウ カラ ミル サードセクター ノ ケイタイ ト チイキテキ テンカイ : ヒガシニホン ダイシンサイ ノ フッコウ シエン オ ジレイ ト シテ

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Abstract

<p>1995, the year in which the Kobe Earthquake occurred, has been called the “first year of voluntarism.” Individuals who voluntarily acted to help earthquake victims without seeking financial compensation became the objects of attention and led to the establishment of qualifications for non-profit corporate status, especially through the Law to Promote Specified Non-Profit Activities. Enacting such laws influenced the founding of many third sector corporations, and third sector associations were active during the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, enough so that the larger society began to take notice of them. However, the third sector in contemporary Japan is still at the stage at which some basic understanding is needed, and the actual activities of the third sector after the Great East Japan Earthquake are still unclear. In this paper, therefore, we will consider the forms that the third sector takes in contemporary Japan, focusing on their independent reactions to the Great East Japan Earthquake, the greatest social problem in the country today. We took the geographic scope into consideration as we conducted our research, mainly through surveys of victim support associations, surveys of residents’ consensus-forming associations, which are the citizens’ associations involved in the recovery of damaged communities, and through interviews at third sector associations.</p><p>As a result of our analysis, we have learned that associations such as specified non-profit activities corporations and general corporations, unlike the benevolent corporations that existed under the former civil law, carried out a variety of activities at the national, prefectural, municipal, and community level, financed largely by contributions and other private funding. We can infer that the third sector associations that carry out voluntary activities in contemporary Japan are composed of these kinds of organizations. Organizations that have their main offices in the Kanto region, especially international NGOs, have a strong presence, and even in the disaster-stricken regions, activities centered on local organizations are possible only in the city of Sendai, with its population of 1 million. For that reason, we have concluded that the accumulation of capital, including funds, facilities, and human resources, determines the ability of third sector associations to solve social problems, and that there are large geographical disparities, especially between the cities and the rural areas. Moreover, third sector associations are becoming an increasing presence even in the communities that are smaller than cities, towns, or villages. Yet they are not governing specific regions in place of traditional local organizations. Instead, both types of organizations exist alongside one another, and third sector associations help revitalize activities of traditional local organizations.</p>

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