Civic Duty for Community Development: The Need for Duty-Based

Approaches?

Sanae Ito

Graduate School of International Development at Nagoya University

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Japan’s Big Society: Civic Duty Fulfillment through

Neighbourhood Associations

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Ward Office

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Federation of NAs

Police Fire Brigade

NANA

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Duty fulfillment through the association membership to create ‘a

Safe and Peaceful Community’

• Clean-up operations• Traffic safety campaigns• Neighbourhood patrols Disaster management drills Waste recycling operations

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Incentives to join the Neighbourhood Association: Disasters and Wastes

To be included in the joint disaster management operations at the imminent threat of a big earthquake

To be included in the collective system of waste recycling

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Lessons to be learned?

• The perceived need to collectively cope with disasters and wastes exists not only in Japan but elsewhere in Asia.

• Where reciprocal behaviour is highly valued, duty fulfillment through certain institutional mechanism might be the missing link between individual empowerment and community development.

• When people get mobilised into the collective system of duty fulfilment, their expectation for the local authorities to fulfil their duties will grow too.

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