Sae Okura

Who Leads Advocacy through Social Media in Japan? Evidence from the “Tsukuba Civic Activities Cyber-Square” Facebook Page

Although the importance of advocacy activities by civil society organizations (CSOs) in policy and decision-making procedures has been greatly emphasized in the literature of political science and social policy, we have relatively little understanding of the relevance and impact of the leading actors who structure the diverse networks and discourses through social media; further recognition is needed in both fields. The purpose of this study is to analyze civil society organizations at the local government level involved in advocacy activities through the use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Our study focuses on a specific Japanese Facebook community page—the “Tsukuba Civic Activities Cyber-Square”—aimed at enhancing civil society activities in Japan. This page is operated by the municipal government of Tsukuba, in collaboration with the University of Tsukuba and Intel Corporation. Our findings indicate that social networking services such as Facebook can provide civil society organizations with: (1) more political opportunities to advocate; (2) more chances to connect with the local government; and (3) create opportunities to exert greater presence, despite their limited financial and political resources.

The last suffrage movement in Japan: Voting rights for persons under guardianship

ABSTRACT In the 1990s, only four of the 63 democratic countries of the world opted to give the right to vote to people with mental health problems and/or intellectual disabilities. However, by the late 2000s, 11 countries, including Japan, had lifted all restrictions and granted those people the right to vote. These changes were justified based on international factors such as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was drafted in 2006. However, as shown by the fact that some countries have granted this right and other countries have not, even among countries that ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, foreign pressure has had varying effects. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze domestic political processes in order to explain the increasing number of countries granting full voting rights to people with mental/intellectual disabilities. In Japan, people under guardianship gained the right to vote in 2013. Why and how did this happen? This article examines Japan’s domestic political processes regarding this right, and clarifies the conditions under which it was recovered. The article reveals how the investigation into the process of making domestic legal changes, which is required to ratify treaties related to the rights of people with mental and/or intellectual disabilities, led to an important discovery regarding the constitutional basis for denying voting rights. People with disabilities and their supporters claimed that the qualification clauses of the Public Offices Election Act were unconstitutional. The resultant rulings in favor of the plaintiffs directly led to legal revisions.

Japanese Local Government Facebook Profiles

Through a text mining of all 425 of the available Facebook pages run by Japanese local governments, this chapter examines how these social networking sites are being used by local governments to create a more collaborative relationship between the private sector and what policy areas tend to get attract fans/followers and engagement on Facebook. The chapter shows how the number of fans/followers and level of engagement of Facebook pages run by Japanese local governments are determined by the policy areas with which they are concerned.

Japanese Japanese Local Government Facebook Facebook Profiles

Through a text mining of all 425 of the available Facebook pages run by Japanese local governments, this chapter examines how these social networking sites are being used by local governments to create a more collaborative relationship between the private sector and what policy areas tend to get attract fans/followers and engagement on Facebook. The chapter shows how the number of fans/followers and level of engagement of Facebook pages run by Japanese local governments are determined by the policy areas with which they are concerned.

Local Government Profiles

Through a text mining of all 425 of the available Facebook pages run by Japanese local governments, this chapter examines how these social networking sites are being used by local governments to create a more collaborative relationship between the private sector and what policy areas tend to get attract fans/followers and engagement on Facebook. The chapter shows how the number of fans/followers and level of engagement of Facebook pages run by Japanese local governments are determined by the policy areas with which they are concerned.

Promotion and Care of Online Communities: Necessary Elements for a Self-Sustainable Online Facebook Community

This chapter conducts a qualitative analysis of the interviews with the community managers of the Tsukuba Cyber-Activities Square. The results explain how the daily procedures of the local government interrupt the development of the Tsukuba Civic Activities Cyber-Square Facebook page. The chapter explores how government-initiated computer-mediated communication (online activities) and human communication (offline activities) increases public engagement while, by contrast, some activities have a negative impact on the level of public engagement in the Tsukuba Civic Activities Cyber-Square Facebook page.

Who Leads Advocacy Through Social Media in Japan

This chapter analyses civil society organizations at the local government level that are involved in activities of advocacy through the usage of social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Based on the “Tsukuba Civic Activities Cyber-Square,” the chapter explores how social networking services such as Facebook can provide civil society organizations with (1) more political opportunities to advocate, (2) more chances to connect with the local government and (3) create opportunities to exert greater presence, in spite of their limited financial and political resources.