Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Neighborhood Association Participation and Formal Volunteering in Japan

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We examine the effect of participation in neighborhood association (NHA) activities on volunteering using the 2010 Japanese General Social Survey data. We find that controlling for established predictors of formal volunteering such as demographic and socioeconomic variables, NHA association participation, either operationalized as a dichotomous or interval variable, positively predicts volunteering. Moreover, some of the established predictors of volunteering (e.g., marital status and associational membership) are useful in predicting NHA participation. Our results indicate a complementary relationship between volunteering and NHA participation. We discuss implications of our study for future research on community volunteering in Japan and elsewhere.

Résumé

Nous étudions l’effet de la participation aux activités de bénévolat des associations de quartier en utilisant des données de l’enquête sociale générale japonaise de 2010. Nous constatons que le contrôle des facteurs prédictifs établis du bénévolat formel, tels que les variables démographiques et socioéconomiques, de la participation des associations de quartier, qu’elle soit mise en œuvre comme variable dichotomique ou d’intervalle, prédit positivement le bénévolat. En outre, certains des indicateurs bien établis du bénévolat (par exemple, la situation familiale et l’adhésion à une association) sont utiles pour prédire la participation à une association de quartier. Nos résultats indiquent une relation complémentaire entre le bénévolat et la participation à une association de quartier. Nous discutons des répercussions de notre étude pour les recherches futures sur la communauté des bénévoles au Japon et ailleurs.

Zusammenfassung

Wir untersuchen die Auswirkung einer Beteiligung an Aktivitäten einer Nachbarschaftsvereinigung auf die ehrenamtliche Arbeit und stützen uns dabei auf die 2010 durchgeführte allgemeine Bevölkerungsumfrage (General Social Survey) in Japan. Wir kommen zu dem Ergebnis, dass die Kontrolle der bewährten Prädiktoren für formelle ehrenamtliche Tätigkeiten, wie demographische und sozioökonomische Variablen, die Beteiligung an einer Nachbarschaftsvereinigung, entweder als dichotome oder Intervallvariable operationalisiert, eine positive Prognose für eine ehrenamtliche Arbeit aufstellen. Darüber hinaus sind einige der bewährten Prädiktoren für die ehrenamtliche Arbeit (z. B. Familienstand und Vereinsmitgliedschaft) für die Prognose einer Beteiligung an der Nachbarschaftsvereinigung nützlich. Unsere Ergebnisse weisen auf eine komplementäre Beziehung zwischen ehrenamtlicher Arbeit und der Beteiligung an einer Nachbarschaftsvereinigung hin. Wir diskutieren die Implikationen unserer Studie für zukünftige Forschungen zu ehrenamtlichen Gemeindetätigkeiten in Japan und anderswo.

Resumen

Examinamos el efecto de la participación en actividades de asociaciones vecinales (NHA, del inglés neighborhood association) sobre el voluntariado utilizando los datos de la Encuesta Social General Japonesa 2010. Encontramos que controlando los indicadores establecidos del voluntariado formal, tales como las variables demográficas y socioeconómicas, la participación en asociaciones vecinales (NHA), ya sea puesta en marcha como una variable de intervalo o como una variable dicotómica, predice el voluntariado de manera positiva. Asimismo, algunos de los indicadores establecidos del voluntariado (p.ej. el estado civil y la pertenencia a una asociación) son útiles para predecir la participación en asociaciones vecinales. Nuestros resultados indican una relación complementaria entre el voluntariado y la participación en asociaciones vecinales. Tratamos de las implicaciones de nuestro estudio para investigaciones futuras sobre el voluntariado comunitario en Japón y en otras partes.

摘要

通过2010年日本综合社会调查数据,我们检查了参与邻里协会 (NHA) 活动对志愿活动的影响。我们发现,控制人口统计和社会经济变量、NHA协会参与(作为叉状分支或间隔变量运营)等既定的正式志愿指标都在积极预测志愿。此外,一些既定志愿指标(如婚姻状态和协会成员)对于预测NHA参与非常有用。我们的结果表明,志愿和NHA参与之间存在互补关系。我们讨论了研究对于日本和其他地方的未来社区志愿活动的含义。

ملخص

نحن ندرس تأثير المشاركة في أنشطة جمعية المقاطعة (NHA) على التطوع بإستخدام بيانات إستطلاع الرأي الإجتماعي العام الياباني عام 2010. نجد أن السيطرة للذين يقومون بالتنبؤ للعمل التطوعي الرسمي ومعترف بهم مثل المتغيرات الديموجرافية والإجتماعية والاقتصادية، مشاركة جمعية المقاطعة (NHA)٬ إما تفعيل كمتغير بين شيئين أو فترات، يتوقع التطوع بشكل إيجابي.علاوة على ذلك، فإن بعض الذين يقومون بالتنبؤ للعمل التطوعي و معترف بهم (على سبيل المثال، الحالة الاجتماعية وعضوية الترابطية) مفيدين في التنبؤ على مشاركة أنشطة جمعية المقاطعة (NHA). نتائجنا تشير إلى وجود علاقة تكاملية بين العمل التطوعي ومشاركة جمعية المقاطعة (NHA). نناقش الآثار المترتبة على دراستنا للبحث في المستقبل على تطوع المجتمع في اليابان وأماكن أخرى.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. This rate is calculated based on microdata of individuals not households.

  2. The US rate of volunteering based on the 2013 Current Population Survey is 25.4 %. It should be noted that unlike the GSS that considers adults as those aged 18 and older, the CPS defines them as those aged 16 and older. The age group 16–24 has the lowest rate of volunteering (BLS 2014). The low rate may be also because the CPS is a household survey and not all of the CPS data on volunteering are based on self-reports (BLS 2014).

  3. In our preliminary analysis, we ran OLS models of NHA participation. Regression diagnostics indicated violations of the assumptions (e.g., normal and homoscedastic distributions of errors). The ordered logistic model was also run. Specification tests suggested that for some predictors, the parallel-slope assumption is violated. We decided to measure NHA participation as well as volunteering at the nominal level.

  4. Comparing coefficients across nested nonlinear models is not straightforward. We adopted the method recommended by Kohler et al. (2011). To compare Models 1 and 2 (for men) and Models 4 and 5 (for women), we found that marital status increases the log odds of volunteering by 0.80 (for men) and 0.62 (for women). Controlling for a binary variable on NHA participation, the direct effect of marital status goes down to 0.46 (for men) and 0.22 (for women), rendering its indirect effect of 0.34 (for men) and 0.40). To compare Models 1 and 3 (for men) and Models 4 and 6 (for women), we found that marital status increases the log odds of volunteering by 0.84 (for men) and 0.61 (for women). Controlling for a binary variable on NHA participation, the direct effect of marital status goes down to 0.28 (for men) and 0.25 (for women), rendering its indirect effect of 0.56 (for men) and 0.36 (for women).

References

  • Aarseth, H. (2009). From modernized masculinity to degendered lifestyle projects changes in men’s narratives on domestic participation 1990-2005. Men and Masculinities, 11(4), 424–440.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aldrich, D. P. (2011). The power of people: Social capital’s role in recovery from the 1995 Kobe earthquake. Natural Hazards, 56(3), 595–611.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anheier, H. K., & Salamon, L. M. (1999). Volunteering in cross-national perspective: Initial comparisons. Law and Contemporary Problems, 62(4), 43–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bekkers, R. (2012). Trust and volunteering: Selection or causation? Evidence from a four year panel study. Political Behavior, 34(2), 225–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bekkers, R., & Schuyt, T. N. M. (2008). And who is your neighbor? Explaining the effect of religion on charitable giving and volunteering. Review of Religious Research, 50(1), 74–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blair, S. L. (1993). Employment, family, and perceptions of marital quality among husbands and wives. Journal of Family Issues, 14(2), 189–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgment of taste. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braibanti, R. J. D. (1948). Neighborhood associations in Japan and their democratic potentialities. The Far Eastern Quarterly (currently The Journal of Asian Studies), 7(2), 136–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, E., & Ferris, J. M. (2007). Social capital and philanthropy: An analysis of the impact of social capital on individual giving and volunteering. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 36(1), 85–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruhn, J. G. (2005). The Sociology of Community Connections. New York: Springer Science + Business Media Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Labor. (2014). Volunteering in the United States, 2013. [News release USDL-14-0314]. Retrieved June 11, 2014, from http://www.bls.gov/news.release/volun.nr0.htm.

  • Caputo, R. K. (1997). Women as volunteers and activists. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 26(2), 156–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cnaan, R. A., & Amrofell, L. M. (1994). Mapping volunteer activity. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 23, 335–351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, J. S. (1990). Foundations of social theory. Cambridge, MA: Bellknap Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cwiertka, K. (2013). Beyond the black market: Neighborhood associations and food rationing in postwar Japan. In C. Gerteis & T. S. George (Eds.), Japan since 1945: From postwar to post-bubble (pp. 89–106). New York: Bloomsbury Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, W. D. (1989). Modern Japan through its weddings: Gender, person, and society in ritual portrayal. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Einolf, C. J. (2009). Will the Boomers volunteer during retirement? Comparing the Baby Boom, silent, and long civic cohorts. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 38(2), 181–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emrich, C. G., Denmark, F. L., & Den Hartog, D. N. (2004). Cross-cultural differences in gender egalitarianism: Implications for societies, organizations, and leaders. Culture, Leadership, and Organizations: The GLOBE Study, 62, 343–394.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freedman, D. A., & Sekhon, J. S. (2010). Endogeneity in probit response models. Political Analysis, 18(2), 138–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, R. (1997). Working for nothing: The supply of volunteer labor. Journal of Labor Economics, 15(1), S140–S166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Georgeou, N. (2010). From Hoshi to Borantia: Transformations of volunteering in Japan and implications for foreign policy. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary & Nonprofit Organizations, 21(4), 467–480.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greene, W. H. (2012). Econometric analysis. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hasegawa, K. (2010). Collaborative environmentalism in Japan. In H. Vinken, Y. Nishimura, B. L. J. White, & M. Deguchi (Eds.), Civic engagement in contemporary Japan: Established and emerging repertoires (pp. 85–99). Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies. New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hastings, S. A. (1995). Neighborhood and nation in Tokyo, 1905–1937. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Honma, M., & Deguchi, M. (1996). Borantia kakumei (volunteer revolution). Tokyo: Tokyo Keizai Shinpo-sha. (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  • ICPSR. (2013). Japanese General Social Survey, 2010 (#34623). Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor].

    Google Scholar 

  • Imada, M. (2010). Civil Society in Japan: Democracy, voluntary action, and philanthropy. In H. Vinken, Y. Nishimura, B. L. J. White, & M. Deguchi (Eds.), Civic engagement in contemporary Japan: Established and emerging repertoires (pp. 21–40). Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies. New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, E., Bachmeier, M., Wood, J. R., & Craft, C. (1995). Volunteering and charitable giving: Do religious and associational ties promote helping behavior? Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 24(1), 59–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, K. S. (2006). Giving and volunteering as distinct forms of civic engagement: The role of community integration and personal resources in formal helping. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 35(2), 249–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kang, N., & Kwak, N. (2003). A multilevel approach to civic participation: Individual length of residence, neighborhood residential stability, and their interactive effects with media use. Communication Research, 30(1), 80–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaufman, G. (2000). Do gender role attitudes matter? Family formation and dissolution among traditional and egalitarian men and women. Journal of Family Issues, 21(1), 128–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kohler, U., Karlson, K. B., & Anders Holm, A. (2011). Comparing coefficients of nested nonlinear probability models. The Stata Journal, 11, 1–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kwak, N., Shah, D. V., & Holbert, R. L. (2004). Connecting, trusting, and participating: The direct and interactive effects of social associations. Political Research Quarterly, 57(4), 643–652.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lebra, T. S. (1984). Japanese women: Constraint and fulfillment. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, Y. J., & Brudney, J. L. (2012). Participation in formal and informal volunteering: Implications for volunteer recruitment. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 23(2), 159–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, Y. J., & Moon, S. G. (2011). Mainstream and ethnic volunteering by Korean immigrants in the United States. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 22(4), 811–830.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lueptow, L. B., Guss, M. B., & Hyden, C. (1989). Sex role ideology, marital status, and happiness. Journal of Family Issues, 10(3), 383–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lunsing, W. M. (2001). Beyond common sense: Sexuality and gender in contemporary Japan. Kegan Paul: London & New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lye, D. N., & Biblarz, T. J. (1993). The effects of attitudes toward family life and gender roles on marital satisfaction. Journal of Family Issues, 14(2), 157–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matsunaga, Y. (2007). To give, or not to give; to volunteer, or not to volunteer, that is the question: Evidence on Japanese philanthropic behavior revealed by the JGSS-2005 data set Nihon-ban General Social Surveys Kenkyu Ronbunshu (Japanese General Social Surveys monographs) (Vol. 6, pp. 69–82). Osaka: Osaka University of Commerce.

    Google Scholar 

  • McPherson, J. M., Popielarz, P. A., & Drobnic, S. (1992). Social networks and organizational dynamics. American Sociological Review, 57(2), 153–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakano, L. Y. (2000). Volunteering as a lifestyle choice: Negotiating self-identities in Japan. Ethnology, 39(2), 93–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakano, L. Y. (2005). Community volunteers in Japan: Everyday stories of social change. New York: Routledge Curzon.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ogawa, A. (2009). The failure of civil society? The third sector and the state in contemporary Japan. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Park, R. E. (1915). The city: Suggestions for the investigation of human behavior in the city environment. The American Journal of Sociology, 20(5), 577–612.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, J. Z., & Smith, C. (2000). To whom much has been given…: Religious capital and community voluntarism among churchgoing Protestants. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 39(3), 272–286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pekkanen, R. (2006). Japan’s dual civil society: Members without advocates. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pekkanen, R., & Tsujinaka, Y. (2008). Neighbourhood associations and the demographic challenge. In F. Coulmas, H. Conrad, A. Schad-Seifert, & G. Vogt (Eds.), The demographic challenge: A handbook about Japan (pp. 707–720). Leiden: BRILL.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Pindyck, R. S., & Rubinfeld, D. L. (1998). Econometric models and economic forecasts (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Portney, K. E., & Berry, J. M. (2007). Neighborhoods, neighborhood associations, and social capital. In S. A. Ostrander & K. E. Portney (Eds.), Acting civically: From local neighborhoods to higher education (pp. 21–43). Hanover, NH: University Press of New England.

    Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. New York: Simon & Schuster.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Rabe-Hesketh, S., Skrondal, A., & Pickles, A. (2004). GLLAMM Manual. U.C. Berkeley Division of Biostatistics Working Paper Series, Paper 160.

  • Retherford, R. D., Ogawa, N., & Matsukura, R. (2001). Late marriage and less marriage in Japan. Population and Development Review, 27, 65–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rossi, A. S. (2001). Domains and dimensions of social responsibility: A sociodemographic profile. In A. S. Rossi (Ed.), Caring and doing for others: Social responsibility in the domains of family, work, and community (pp. 97–134). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruiter, S., & De Graaf, N. D. (2006). National context, religiosity, and volunteering: Results from 53 Countries. American Sociological Review, 71(2), 191–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, R. J. (2012). Great American city: Chicago and the enduring neighborhood effect. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sato, T. (1991). Tokugawa villages and agriculture. In C. Nakane, S. Ooishi, & C. Totman (Eds.), Tokugawa Japan: The social and economic antecedents of modern Japan (pp. 37–80). Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmid, H. (2001). Neighborhood self-management: Experiments in civil society. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, R., & Goda, K. (2004). From disaster to sustainable civil society: The Kobe experience. Disasters, 28(1), 16–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, L. M. (1975). Women as volunteers: The double subsidy. Journal of Voluntary Action Research, 4(3), 119–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, H. D. (1983). The nonliberal roots of Taisho democracy. In H. Wray & H. Conroy (Eds.), Japan Examined: Perspectives on Modern Japanese History (pp. 191–199). Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taniguchi, H. (2006). Men’s and women’s volunteering: Gender differences in the effects of employment and family characteristics. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 35(1), 83–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taniguchi, H. (2010). Who are volunteers in Japan? Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 39(1), 161–179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taniguchi, H. (2012). The determinants of formal and informal volunteering: Evidence from the American Time Use Survey. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 23(4), 920–939.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thranhardt, A. M. (1990). Traditional neighborhood associations in industrial society: The case of Japan. In H. K. Anheier & W. Seibel (Eds.), The third sector: Comparative studies of nonprofit organizations (pp. 347–360). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tsuya, N. O., & Mason, K. O. (1995). Changing gender roles and below-replacement fertility in Japan. In K. O. Mason & A. Jensen (Eds.), Gender and family change in industrialized countries (pp. 139–167). Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uslaner, E. M. (2002). The moral foundations of trust. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • van Houwelingen, P. (2012). Neighborhood associations and social capital in Japan. Urban Affairs Review, 48(4), 467–497.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Von Hoffman, A. (1994). Local attachments: The making of an American urban neighborhood, 1850 to 1920. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, L., & Graddy, E. (2008). Social capital, volunteering, and charitable giving. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 19(1), 23–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, R. (2006). Generalized ordered logit/partial proportional odds models for ordinal dependent variables. The Stata Journal, 6(1), 58–82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, J. (2012). Volunteerism research: A review essay. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 41(2), 176–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, J. (2000). Volunteering. Annual Review of Sociology, 26(1), 215–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, J., & Musick, M. A. (1997). Work and volunteering: The long arm of the job. Social Forces, 76(1), 251–272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wollebæk, D., & Strømsnes, K. (2008). Voluntary associations, trust, and civic engagement: A multilevel approach. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 37(2), 249–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wuthnow, R. (2002). The United States: Bridging the privileged and the marginalized? In R. D. Putnam (Ed.), Democracies in flux (pp. 59–102). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Yamazaki, Y. (2012). Recent History of Citizen Co-operatives in Japan and JCCU’s “2020 Vision”. Cadernos Gestão Social, 3(2), 293–304.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The Japanese General Social Surveys (JGSS) are designed and carried out by the JGSS Research Center at Osaka University of Commerce (Joint Usage/Research Center for Japanese General Social Surveys accredited by Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), in collaboration with the Institute of Social Science at the University of Tokyo.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of Louisville, 103 Lutz Hall, Louisville, KY, 40292, USA

    Hiromi Taniguchi & Gul Aldikacti Marshall

Authors
  1. Hiromi Taniguchi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gul Aldikacti Marshall
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hiromi Taniguchi.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 4.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Taniguchi, H., Aldikacti Marshall, G. Neighborhood Association Participation and Formal Volunteering in Japan. Voluntas 27, 695–723 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-015-9551-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-015-9551-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation