[Special Feature: 20 Years of NPOs] Roundtable Discussion: Re-examining the Role of NPOs Today

This year marks the 20th anniversary since the Act on Promotion of Specified Non-profit Activities (NPO Act) came into effect in 1998. What role have NPOs played in Japanese society during this time? Today, I would like to look back on these 20 years with all of you and discuss the outlook for the future.

Let me start with a brief summary. In 1995, just before the NPO Act started in 1998, the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake occurred, and this year is often called the 'First Year of Volunteering.' At the same time, it was also called the 'First Year of the Internet.' Events from this year acted as a trigger for the enactment of the NPO Act.

Going further back, shortly before that, discussions were happening globally about what was called 'A Global Associational Revolution' or a non-profit revolution. The term 'NPO' was introduced to Japan around this time.

Going back even further, in the mid-80s, active groups were emerging that balanced business viability with social movements—groups that we would now recognize as NPOs. At the time, there was a 'paid volunteer' controversy, with people questioning whether taking money meant it wasn't volunteering or non-profit activity. This was the situation prior to the enactment of the NPO Act.

On the other hand, a major characteristic since entering the 2000s is that a young generation of social entrepreneurs, like Mr. Kojima—completely different from previous generations—has been developing various activities with their own unique ideas. From around this time, interest shifted significantly from NPOs as 'movement bodies' to NPOs as 'business entities.'

The 2003 amendment to the NPO Act was symbolic. Here, things like 'economy,' 'employment,' and 'consumption'—which were previously thought to be worlds apart from NPOs—were included in the NPO Act. Since the 'First Year of CSR' for corporations was also around this time, I feel there are linked aspects.

Later, from the beginning of the 2010s, social media became widespread, and crowdfunding attracted attention. The biggest factor was the 'New Public' (2010) initiative under the Democratic Party of Japan administration, which Mr. Kaneko was also involved in. This suddenly positioned the world of NPOs near the center stage of society. In the Great East Japan Earthquake immediately following that, support activities were carried out based on the premise of NPOs and intermediary support.

Also, one major point regarding the legal system was the transition to the new public interest corporation system starting in 2008. This allowed for various corporate forms to be chosen for private non-profit activities, not just NPO corporations, but also general incorporated associations and public interest incorporated associations.

In 2015, the number of NPO corporations exceeded 50,000, but among social entrepreneurs, some are NPO corporations while others are joint-stock companies. We have entered an era where the question 'What is an NPO in the first place?' is being asked again.

This year has seen many disasters, and volunteering has attracted a lot of attention. Recruitment for Tokyo 2020 volunteers has also begun and is being debated. In that sense, I feel the situation surrounding NPOs and volunteering is changing once again.

First, Mr. Kaneko, you have observed this world for a long time, and I believe your communications had a very large impact on the discussions and positioning of NPOs and volunteering in the mid-90s. Looking back, what are your thoughts?

Since I first learned about NPOs while I was in the United States, I think American and Japanese NPOs are quite different. Lester Salamon, a famous American scholar in the field of NPOs, says that 'in America, local communities were formed before the government or administrative organizations.' It is different from Japan starting from this point.

The first representative examples of non-profit organizations in America were universities. Harvard University in 1636, then Princeton was founded, the Metropolitan Museum of Art appeared, and the Red Cross appeared. As early as 1878, a court case regarding tax incentives occurred at Harvard University. Then in 1954, Harvard University took the initiative regarding tax incentives for non-profit organizations. In Japan, there was no tax incentive system for NPOs until 2012.

The person who quickly created a draft for the NPO bill in Japan and played a central role in the establishment of the law was Akira Matsubara of an organization called 'C's.' At that time, NPOs were not well known in Japan and were obscure, but he clearly stated the necessity of an NPO Act before 1998. Later, the certified NPO system was created, and in 2012, the 'Approved NPO' system, which allows for tax incentives, was also launched.

When the Approved NPO system was created, the government introduced the Public Support Test, and the donation tax system was realized. I was also somewhat involved in those details. In fiscal 2018, there were over 50,000 certified NPOs and over 1,000 approved NPOs.

Various NPOs are growing in Japan as well. For example, Katariba and Florence, founded by SFC alumni, are well known as wonderful business-type NPOs.

Also, you might not know it, but there is a very wonderful group home called 'Group Fujii.' Kimiko Washio, an energetic person over 80 years old, is vigorously handling everything from building acquisition to management. She is an amazing person who borrowed 900 million yen from a bank in Fujisawa City to build a second group home for the elderly.

NPOs like these have grown in Japan, and many non-profit activities are now being implemented independently of the government. There are also business-type NPOs that work together with corporations. I see that interesting developments are gradually starting in Japan as well.

Could you talk a little bit about the time of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake?

I think the trigger for NPO activities becoming popular was indeed the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. I also went to the site with many SFC students. At that time, I started a system called 'Inter-V-Net.' By negotiating with various companies like Nifty and IBM, people with an interest could view the network and perform support activities from anywhere.

In an era when PC communication was at its peak and the internet was not yet widespread—when you could only do your own communication—you opened it all up, didn't you?

However, Mr. Kaneko, I don't think you had any connection to the world of volunteering until the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake. At that time, where did you place your expectations and what did you find attractive that led you to commit to this field?

At that time, I just thought, 'Let's go to the site.' Then, in no time, dozens of students from my seminar gathered. I only made the call.

There was no deep reasoning; I just said 'Let's go anyway,' and various people gathered. Companies also moved quickly. Because of that, I felt that Japan could actually pull this off.

So it was spontaneous rather than strategic?

Yes, no strategy at all. Everyone was having fun.

In 1995, I was a third-year student at Mita, but I didn't know about those movements at all.

I was in the first graduating class of the SFC Graduate School, and I was building relations in Hanshin-Awaji with my classmates. A total of over a hundred Keio students went. SFC students responded immediately, but several people from Mita also came saying, 'Let us join you.'

The students had much lighter footwork, and it was like we were being dragged along by them. It wasn't us saying 'Do this and that on the agenda,' but more like 'Let's just go and help.'

At that time, since not everyone had mobile phones, Mr. Kaneko went to NTT and said, "Give me mobile phones for free" (laughs).

I got about 300 units.

We gave them to everyone and went into the site. Every night, they would call the SFC Graduate School where we were, saying 'There aren't enough people here' or 'There aren't enough supplies here.' We would turn that into text and upload it to the website. We were doing something like the precursor to information volunteering. That was the utilization of 'Inter-V-Net' that you mentioned earlier.

I gained a new appreciation for the power of students.

Ms. Hagiwara has also been involved in this field in various ways for a long time. How did you enter the NPO field in the first place?

Initially, it was from the late 70s to the early 80s, an era when the term NPO had not yet entered Japan. The trigger was participating in an organic farming group in Hino City, Tokyo, to write my master's thesis. This group was receiving a grant from the Toyota Foundation's 'Civic Research Contest: Observing the Immediate Environment' (hereafter, Civic Research Contest), which was the first program in Japan to provide grants for civic research activities. It was probably the first program to give money to civic activities, and research activities at that.

When was that?

It lasted from 1979 to 1997. It was started by the Toyota Foundation, established in 1974, to commemorate its 5th anniversary. It was a program created primarily by Yoshinori Yamaoka, who was a program officer at the Toyota Foundation at the time.

Providing some kind of grant for civic activities really activates those activities and leads to social recognition for the organizations. I was involved in the Civic Research Contest as an associate program officer after finishing graduate school, and I felt firsthand how the perception of the people around the grant recipients changed from 'those people are doing something strange' to 'it seems they are doing something socially good.'

You have been active from a very early stage.

It was said that I was a bit too early (laughs). Later, in the late 1980s, the 'Japan Networkers Conference' was established and I was a member. Around that time, the agenda included how to introduce a system to Japan that would allow civic groups to obtain legal personality. I served as the chairperson of a subcommittee on 'NPO Management.'

Mr. Yamaoka and others were already saying since the 1980s that they wanted to make it easy for civic activity groups to obtain legal personality to solidify their foundation. This was because the public interest corporation system was very old, and they felt that associations and foundations were tied down by the competent authorities and could not necessarily conduct activities as they wished. The idea was that if citizens could develop their activities more freely, various activities based on diverse awareness of issues would be nurtured, and they wanted to create such a civil society.

At the time, it was said that it would be impossible to have a system in place within the 20th century, but things moved all at once with the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake in 1995.

During the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake, many people entered the disaster areas, but they couldn't develop their activities without a receiving end.

As for who the receiving end was, I think people who had been doing regional or welfare activities since the 70s and 80s had successfully formed networks. So, while the 'First Year of Volunteering' seems to have happened suddenly, I have the impression that it was well-prepared.

At the time of Hanshin-Awaji, I think the existence of organizations like the Osaka Voluntary Action Center was significant. For example, even if students or citizens joined, they wouldn't know where to go, what to do, or how to do it. Volunteer coordination was absolutely necessary. I think that became the trigger for the movement to create a law together.

Intermediary support organizations become necessary.

Exactly. I think that was the trigger that also led to the establishment of the Japan NPO Center.

I see. Even though we say we are looking back on 20 years, the pre-history of those 20 years is long.

One more thing: when creating the Japan NPO Center, Mr. Yamaoka and others went to investigate American NPO organizations as part of research for NIRA (National Institute for Research Advancement). They learned about donation tax systems and legal personality to understand what was necessary for Japan to properly create a civil society and how to solidify that foundation, and they wrote it in a report.

Now, Mr. Yamada, could you also share your thoughts?

I graduated from Keio in 1996 and joined the Nippon Foundation. I became involved with NPOs in earnest in 2005, when I took charge of welfare. In 2006, the Nippon Foundation created CANPAN, a system to promote information dissemination and disclosure by NPOs through a database of organization information and blogs. From then on, I became involved in the form of supporting NPO information dissemination in earnest.

Blogs started becoming popular in Japan around 2005, but until then, NPO activities basically only disseminated information in the form of business reports saying 'we did this.' It evolved into an era where they could use the internet to share the progress of their projects, saying 'we are doing this now.'

By having NPOs themselves actively disseminate information using tools like the internet, they create connections with various people. Currently, I am providing information dissemination support for that purpose.

I imagine you often interact with active participants from the position of intermediary support. Has the change during this period been significant?

In an era where information can be actively disseminated using the internet, it becomes easier to connect with people different from before. Also, while NPOs used to be in a position of being supported by corporations, we are now in an era where corporations come to NPOs seeking know-how. For example, an organization called 'Madre Bonita,' which conducts postpartum care activities, frequently receives approaches from corporations wanting to know their postpartum care know-how.

At Keio, there is an organization called 'ADDS' that supports children with developmental disabilities, started by two women, Yumino Takeuchi and Hitomi Kuma, when they were students in the Faculty of Letters studying psychology. I have introduced that organization to companies like Benesse because they wanted to know the know-how for supporting developmental disabilities. In this way, NPOs that provide know-how to corporations are gradually increasing.

Indeed, the Japan NPO Center also receives inquiries from corporations. Regarding the development of information dissemination tools, what I experienced during my time at the Toyota Foundation was that initially everyone wrote by hand and sent documents by mail, but the appearance of the fax machine significantly changed the speed and spread of information dissemination.

With the fax, information exchange with grant organizations became speedy. Of course, active groups also became able to send announcements and such to various places all at once, which greatly expanded civic activities and allowed information to gather from all over the country.

Around what time was that?

From around 1988 or 89. the 90s was truly the era of the fax. It wasn't yet the era of the internet. The evolution of information tools is very significant in developing NPO activities. I think things like what Mr. Kaneko did—providing 300 mobile phones—played an incredibly large role in activating civic activities.

So media caught up with making the network function well.

There was an interesting case on the 'CANPAN Blog.' There was an NPO for forestry activities in Miyagi run by an elderly couple. Although the two of them couldn't use a computer, they were updating their blog. They would fax their handwritten manuscripts to their son in Tokyo, who would then upload them.

That's interesting. Certainly, the perspective of media is very important.

Hearing the stories so far, Mr. Kojima might feel like, 'Oh, so that happened' (laughs). What do you think?

I run a small organization called the NPO 'Nou School' (Agri-School). Specifically, we work to connect farmers facing labor shortages with homeless people, welfare recipients, and shut-ins (hikikomori) who want to work but have no jobs. Others, such as people on probation or those who have developed mental illnesses, also come to us.

My main business is as a vegetable farmer, producing and selling vegetables as a joint-stock company and providing agricultural experience services to citizens. Within that, I was working to connect people who have difficulty working with the agricultural industry facing labor shortages. I thought that for that part, making it an NPO would create more reach and allow everyone to participate more loosely, so I created the NPO Nou School.

In fact, by making it an NPO, I think it has become easier for citizens to participate in our activities than if it were a joint-stock company.

It's not that I particularly wanted to start a company or run an NPO. I had a desire to connect 'people who want to work but have no jobs' with 'farmers suffering from labor shortages,' and within that, I thought about what form would be best in this country and ended up creating an NPO.

So the purpose came first.

Yes. I just thought about which form would be easiest to do that.

Does it work well when you do it together with a joint-stock company?

Ultimately, a company works by looking toward the customers who pay them. They maintain the quality of their service by looking toward the customers who come for the farming experience or those who buy their vegetables. So, I think it would be possible to operate as a joint-stock company if we framed it as a 'farm for the homeless.'

However, the reason we chose to be an NPO is that we don't operate by taking money from the homeless individuals themselves.

That's true. Even during the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, it wasn't a case of starting with 'Okay, let's form an organization.' It started from a desire to do something, and as we went along, the question of how to sustain it arose, so systems and organizations followed later.

In terms of systems, there is now a system for supporting the independence of people in need through agricultural work, which was created as a joint project between the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

That's 'Agriculture-Welfare Collaboration,' isn't it?

Yes, our organization became a leading example for that. I realized that even if you work steadily and quietly, if the times deem it necessary, the government will create systems like this.

I see. So systems are created as those leading examples build up a track record.

Conversely, everyone is looking for those kinds of examples now.

The Long-Term Care Insurance system is exactly like that.

However, it is strictly a system 'for people in need.' Since we have people coming with all sorts of circumstances, if we rely on the system, we can no longer maintain the form where 'everyone can come.'

For example, under the Agriculture-Welfare Collaboration system, the target is people with disabilities, and homeless people or social recluses (hikikomori) would no longer be able to participate. That's why I feel some resistance to changing our activities to fit the system. While expanding the scale might have a greater social impact, I have a desire to 'realize a society where everyone has a fair chance through the hands of citizens, even if it's on a small scale,' so we operate small without using the system.

I spent two years at the Miyagi Prefectural Government. The administration is inevitably bound by laws and regulations, so as in the story just now, when various types of people come, they no longer fit into a single legal system. Kayoko Soman is the one who created the 'Toyama-style Day Service,' which provides day services where children, the elderly, and people with disabilities are all together. Because each legal system is different, it seems it was difficult for government officials to understand at first. But she worked together with city and prefectural officials toward deregulation and eventually moved the national government. Now, 'Toyama-style Day Service' has spread not only within Toyama Prefecture but across the country.

Just as Kojima-san is doing, as you give shape to your own vision, the system gradually catches up. Then, marginal areas emerge again, and a new movement arises in response. It's a repetition of that, but at the beginning, there are NPOs with a passionate vision.

What I noticed while at the Miyagi Prefectural Government was that there is a range of human discretion in the interpretation of legal systems and ordinances. Meeting government officials who are willing to be a bit flexible—to the extent that it doesn't become a violation—and support your activities is also important for developing your work. Discerning that, and knowing how to get along well with the administration through cooperation rather than conflict, is vital.

For NPOs and the government to work well together, they must understand each other's cultures. Since NPOs often don't understand how government mechanisms work, the bridging part is important.

There are also some outrageous NPOs out there. That is the problem.

Elements of cross-cultural communication are necessary.

Collaboration with the government is one of the major topics. It's not just a relationship of writing papers and receiving grants or subsidies. It's important to figure out how to create a relationship where you can ask 'Can we do this?' and they say 'Yes, go ahead.'

It's a relationship of trust. The belief that they won't do anything outrageous. Basically, that's all it takes.

I think the role of an NPO is that of 'local media.' For example, it is an important role for an NPO to speak on behalf of people in the community who are struggling and cannot voice their needs via the internet or other means. Even in disaster-stricken areas, support often doesn't arrive unless the situation of those in need is communicated.

Also, it's important that there are people waiting for information on the other side of the internet. Currently, when we talk about NPO information dissemination, the focus on fundraising or volunteer recruitment for the organization itself has become too strong. But originally, I think it's important to consider how to provide appropriate information to the people waiting for it beyond that.

That is an important point. The 'local media' you just mentioned has a symbolic meaning, right? In other words, it's media in the sense that their very existence connects someone to someone else and mediates that, and the fact that they are active is transmitted as information.

You could say that the affinity between media and NPOs is quite an essential value.

That's right. I think a major role of NPOs is how to make society aware of things it hasn't noticed. It's important for local NPOs on the ground to communicate the issues they've found within the community.

The reason 'Children's Cafeterias' (Kodomo Shokudo) have spread this much is likely because NPOs and volunteer groups working hard in the community are active and communicating the local situation. That's exactly why more people can learn about social issues.

Recently, the number of 'community hubs' (ibasho) has been increasing, and because information gathers there, companies also approach them, leading to conversations like 'Is there anything we can help with?'

I think the government comes to see Kojima-san's case because that kind of information exists.

For that, I think it's important to be closely rooted in the community and to have a strong sense of being on the ground and being a stakeholder. Therefore, it's important for the NPO itself and the people involved to become media.

To achieve this, we need NPPs (Non-profit persons) who discover local issues—in other words, 'people who take the lead in doing things that don't make a profit.' When an NPP moves, other NPPs gather. Those people gather and become NPGs or NPOs. Then they connect local stakeholders, saying 'There's this problem, so let's work together with the government, companies, and neighborhood associations to solve it.' They truly become media, don't they?

Listening to the various stories now, I get the feeling that over the last 30 or 40 years, there's been a search for niches, or rather, a sense that narrow areas are starting to work well.

Indeed, looking at niches. Then, various companies and local governments also find and expand those areas, spreading them to the community. In a sense, those areas have become very powerful. While I don't think they are a massive success as a whole, aren't there quite a few Japanese NPOs that are succeeding by working steadily like that?

That's right. The Japan NPO Center, as a support center, is connected with support centers in each region, but it's not an organization at the top of an umbrella; rather, I think of it as having a role like a facilitator.

By collecting information from each region, organizing what the problems are, disseminating that, and introducing collaborative projects between companies and NPOs that the Japan NPO Center is conducting, collaborations are born from ideas like 'If they're doing this, maybe we can do it too' or 'It might be interesting to connect this and that.'

I feel that NPOs have come through a struggle between networks and hierarchies. 50,000 corporations were created, but that doesn't mean 50,000 branch offices were created.

Nowhere does anyone think about 'let's go create our own branches.' Intermediate support organizations also understand this well and don't try to 'get everyone to gather.' They operate in a way that says 'we'll help you out.'

That is collaboration. It's what is often called 'knot working' now. When a problem is found, you tie organizations and people together to solve it, and once solved, you untie them. But that becomes a connection, and a loose link—a network—remains. I call it the 'tie and open method' myself (laughs).

Now, much is said about the 'New Public' policy during the Democratic Party of Japan administration, but I believe there are many points that should be properly verified. Kaneko-san, having been deeply involved in this policy, what are your thoughts?

I spent three years in Stanford University's Doctoral Programs with Yukio Hatoyama, so we are close. He is a person with a very large number of various ideas.

However, while he doesn't mean any harm, I realized he is a person who doesn't follow through to the finish line (laughs). In that sense, I feel it's a bit of a shame.

For the 'New Public' project, an amount of money that was said wouldn't be seen again for the next 100 years was distributed nationwide. I was involved in the project in Kanagawa Prefecture, and while management seemed to vary by prefecture, I think it was significant that it made the existence of NPOs known throughout Japan.

That's true.

After all, NPOs still have a weak foundation.

That's right. I was also involved in Hyogo Prefecture, and what's impressive is that for things that would have been supported as a single NPO until then, the scale was so large that it was a bit difficult for a single organization to step up.

That's why it was done as a partnership/collaboration project, right?

Yes. I think there was an effect in trying to involve the community or changing the framework slightly. The size of the amount was effective.

By setting things up so that organizations in the same region that had no contact with each other would 'do it together,' communication was born. So, I think we must appreciate that it expanded the narrow definition of NPOs to include the community.

In that sense, the 'New Public' made a great contribution, and I think a good foundation for some percentage of what we've talked about today was built there.

Yamada-san, I think you have various concerns regarding the acquisition of funds as well. If you consider the sustainability of an NPO, the issue of resources and money is naturally unavoidable. How do you view the recent situation?

I think organizations that are good at fundraising have emerged, and because they can now use various IT services, costs have come down. For example, whereas in the past they would print and mail newsletters, now savvy organizations are keeping costs down by making good use of free services for NPOs, such as those provided by Google.

Also, an increasing number of organizations are making good use of crowdfunding to raise funds from a wide range of people.

Crowdfunding also attracted a lot of attention in the beginning, so I think it was relatively easy to gather funds, but now that everyone is doing it, isn't the competition fierce?

But since the pie isn't that big yet, both the number of projects and the amounts are growing. What's good about crowdfunding is that it can be an opportunity to find your own supporters.

There are also ways to transition people who have supported you once into, for example, monthly supporters who provide ongoing donations. Some places are actively working to create an initial spark through crowdfunding and then keep people involved continuously from there.

That's the key, isn't it? Not just 'it's over once they've given once,' but how to connect them to your circle of companions.

That's right. Creating connections becomes important.

For example, someone who supported through crowdfunding might get involved as a volunteer next time. Even with the Great East Japan Earthquake, people who initially supported through donations might visit the area as tourists during the reconstruction phase. Since there are places that create such connections, I think it's worth the effort for NPOs to be creative.

From the perspective of business operations, how is it at Kojima-san's place?

We are also becoming able to lower costs. But regarding fundraising, I feel we haven't been able to do it well at all, and I think we need to do a better job of communicating information. Listening to the talk just now, I even thought I'd like to try crowdfunding a bit (laughs).

How about people's participation?

There are many people who want to participate. For volunteers, we get a fair number of applications from homeless people and social recluses.

But those are people who are quite difficult to approach, aren't they?

Homeless people have quite a bit of horizontal connection, so it's word of mouth, like 'It was good going there.' Of course, they don't use the internet...

What I thought doing this activity is that the claim that Japan's literacy rate is 90-something percent must be a total lie (laughs). There are quite a few homeless people who cannot read. They can read hiragana, but they can't read kanji. Writing a resume can be quite difficult for them.

That's also the discovery of a new issue.

So, homeless people come through word of mouth or support organizations. Social recluses come after looking us up on the internet, but they don't have horizontal connections. However, when they do farm work together, the reclusive kids actually become quite good friends with each other.

Besides them, what kind of people come?

These are people with mental illnesses, people on welfare, or people on probation. Support groups bring them to us. Regarding those on probation, rehabilitation facilities are currently full, so the Ministry of Justice is also relying on the private sector. Those who participate tell us that "farming is fun."

Is it good because it becomes a place where they belong and can make friends?

I think it is becoming a place where they belong. They make friends, and it also seems to serve as a safe zone. Some people live while their lives are being threatened and cannot trust others.

Children who are shut-ins (hikikomori) are also withdrawn because they are afraid of being criticized by others if they go out into society, but if they come to us, there is no one to attack them. It is a space where they can say anything.

I think it's thanks to the fields. There is a sense of openness, so they don't feel so on edge and just focus on working up a sweat. The work itself isn't easy, though.

Touching the soil must be good for them.

A child who had been a shut-in for many years was initially out of breath during the work. But because he wanted to come here, he started walking in the middle of the night to build up his physical strength, became able to come, and eventually became a farmer.

I actually think that just sharing his existence could give hope to shut-ins all over Japan, but he says he doesn't want to go public yet.

That is the difficulty of information dissemination for NPOs. Even if you achieve great results, there are many cases where you cannot have that person appear in public.

Some people are being pursued by former associates, so there are those who cannot appear in the media.

In terms of management, it is very easy to collect money for easy-to-understand causes, such as supporting children. Conversely, places like intermediate support centers are the hardest to collect for. People often say they don't understand what we do.

The most important thing is how many members we can gather to enable free activities. Also, how to obtain grants for each project. It is often said that it is desirable to have a good balance of donations and contracts. I believe the role of grant-making foundations and the dormant bank accounts—whose usage and allocation are currently being deliberated—is to support areas where it is difficult to gather money.

Regarding fundraising, experts are definitely needed. In places like the US, there are proper fundraisers. It has long been said that we must further root mechanisms like a donation culture in Japan. Since many NPO corporations are dissolving, I feel it will be tough from now on unless we instill a consciousness of everyone supporting civil society. Japanese NPOs have not yet become strong active organizations.

How to provide multi-faceted support—financial, human, and informational—so that civic groups can engage in the original free activities based on the NPO Act. I think that will become important in the future.

It is said that Japan has no culture of donation, but there are actually various examples of donations.

Since the Meiji era, there has been Christian culture, Eiichi Shibusawa went to the US to inspect philanthropy research, and Juji Ishii, who was called the father of child welfare, collected donations in many different ways. It's not that there is no donation culture; we can see that there are various precedents for it.

We certainly have preconceptions. There was a time when it was said that volunteering would not take root in Japan because there was no religious backbone, but that wasn't the case.

In the past, it was about "hidden virtue" (intoku). The Japan NPO Center does collaborative projects with various companies, and sometimes when we say, "Let's spread this more," they respond, "No, no, you don't have to spread it that much." It's very Japanese, so to speak. But there is also the evaluation of companies that are globalizing, and many companies are changing their awareness, saying they need to turn it into "visible virtue" (yotoku).

Also, we experienced during the Great East Japan Earthquake that if it is clearly understood that "this money will be used in this way," not only companies but also citizens find it easier to donate.

That's right. Since there are people in various places who want to be involved, I think it is the role of the NPO side to provide various ways to engage, such as volunteering or donating.

When I lived in the US for a short time, I met someone whose child had a disability. They said, "I want to hold a charity concert for disability awareness," and went around town saying, "Please donate."

What surprised me a little was that everywhere they went, the first thing they were asked was, "What are you going to do?" They didn't ask "Who are you?" or "Where are you from?" In Japan, if you go to a company to ask for a donation, the first thing they ask is, "Who introduced you?" or "What company are you from?"

That's certainly true.

Since active organizations are supposed to start from "what to do," I feel it's important to bring our thinking back to that starting point.

Since the early 2000s, many younger generation NPOs that now represent the sector, such as Katariba and Florence, have emerged. Many of these groups came out of Keio SFC. Is this a characteristic of SFC, or a characteristic of the generation? Mr. Kojima, you are from the closest generation; why did you start social activities in the first place?

I am from a rural area in Kumamoto Prefecture. My parents were teachers, but agriculture was familiar to me. When I was in the 2nd or 3rd grade of elementary school, I saw a documentary program from overseas and learned that there are countries without food, and I thought I would go to such a country and be a farmer.

I took the entrance exam for the Faculty of Agriculture in high school, but it didn't go well, so my cram school teacher recommended SFC. Since Katariba and Florence are of the same generation, I think SFC had become positioned as a place where people who wanted to do NGOs or NPOs would apply.

That is certainly true.

Conversely, does that mean there was nothing else at the time?

The Rikkyo University Graduate School of 21st Century Social Design was established in 2002 as a graduate school where one could specialize in non-profit and for-profit management and obtain an MBA. I think it was probably the first in Japan as an MBA that put non-profit organization management at the forefront. That was around the time when classes related to NPOs started being offered at various universities. The creation of the NPO Act was a big factor, wasn't it?

As you mentioned earlier, many people are triggered by watching overseas documentaries. When they think about going, they realize, "Wait, that problem exists in Japan too."

Exactly. I had never seen a homeless person in Kumamoto, so when I came here and saw one for the first time at Yokohama Station, it was a shock. I realized there are people in Japan without food or homes, and I thought I should do what needs to be done in Japan first. I intend to go to Africa in a little while, though.

In Kansai, people who experienced the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake were starting NPOs right around this time.

That's right. The first student to create an NPO corporation was a student at Kwansei Gakuin University. They wanted to support children affected by the disaster, and while helping them with their studies, they realized, "Their issues aren't just there," and started an NPO.

From the perspective of someone who studied at Mita, SFC has many academic fields where you go out into society and see various things, so I think people who discovered issues there are aiming to become social entrepreneurs.

Certainly, rather than drilling in discipline first, there was an educational style of "just go to the field for now."

Well, maybe that's all there is (laughs). Teachers almost never say, "Do this."

Is it like finding interests and theories from there?

It's about having students find them on their own. Whether or not they can properly notice those things is quite significant.

Also, SFC didn't have vertical silos between academic fields from the start. From that, some vague issue emerges, and later it connects to, "Oh, that's actually a welfare issue."

I think the atmosphere of "it's okay to say vague things" was good. I wasn't told, "That's a discipline in the gaps, you have to choose one or the other."

If the role of an NPO is precisely to turn vertical things into horizontal ones, then in the case of SFC, they were doing that in an academic setting.

People who learned there go out into society, and Mr. Kojima is playing the role of breaking down the vertical silos and existing values. By acquiring that, you are truly changing society.

Because he's doing it himself. I'm not doing anything at all (laughs).

It's flexible. Including myself, the older generation tends to have a bit of a "must-do disease."

I serve as a selection committee member for the "Women's Challenge Award" implemented by the Gender Equality Bureau of the Cabinet Office since 2004. Kumi Imamura of Katariba was a recipient of the 6th award. However, when she received the award, she felt a sense of discomfort, as if she were being told, "You're doing well for a woman." It was like, "I don't know why I'm receiving this." I was stunned (laughs). But after hearing the speeches of senior women at the award ceremony, she said she realized that thanks to the hardships of her predecessors, her generation can now choose their jobs without feeling that discomfort.

I think she discovered the social meaning of what she was doing there. That's why there isn't that initial weight of "this is socially important."

I think that's what is inviting empathy and participation from various people, especially young people.

That is symbolic.

So, the thinking of young people is "it would be nice if this existed," and they are doing what they want to do. Mr. Kojima, you are probably more about "will" than "must."

I thought it would be good because both the homeless and the farmers would be happy, and no one would be troubled.

Because compared to the content of what you're doing, you're so incredibly refreshing.

That's true. It makes me wonder if it's really okay (laughs).

He says it casually, but he's doing something amazing. It feels like the image of a new generation of NPOs.

He's light on his feet.

But if you're just light, you'll fail somewhere, so there's definitely strength there. That's great.

Also, it means the number of people who want to support what young people are doing has increased.

Local farmers learned about my initiatives, and when shut-ins or homeless people come, they say things like, "You're working hard despite the heat." That gives me a lot of confidence. I think a trend is emerging where communities support the next generation of NPOs starting new things.

The good thing about SFC might be that it created accessible role models. Newly formed groups can ask their seniors about fundraising methods or organizational management know-how.

Certainly, there is a connection between seniors and juniors, a network in that sense. Now, similar things can be seen with students from other faculties, and young social entrepreneurs have increased even further. I think it's fair to say it has become a culture of Keio as a whole, transcending the framework of SFC.

Today, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the NPO Act, we had people from different generations gather, and the discussion eventually reached the role played by universities. At the time, it was certainly a situation that could be called a boom, but what's important is what happened after, and it may not be generally known that it has steadily taken root.

I believe it is also an important role of the university to not let it end as a temporary fad, but to face it calmly and discuss it from time to time like this. Thank you for the wide-ranging talk.

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.