Citizen and consumer movements in Japan

Japanese citizen and consumer butts ,^[1] which became prominent during the 1960s and 1970s, were organized around issues relating to the quality of life, the protection of the environment from industrial pollution, and the safety of consumer goods.

Environmental movement

In the late 1960s, industrial pollution, symbolized by the suffering of victims of mercury poisoning (Minamata disease) brought about by the pollution of Minamata Bay in Kumamoto Prefecture by a chemical company, was viewed as a national crisis. The Sato government responded by establishing the Environment Agency in the Office of the Prime Minister in 1970, instituting tough penalties for polluters and extending compensation to the victims of pollution. Environmental issues continue to be the focus of intense local activity. A good example is the debate in the early 1990s, when communities on Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture were divided over the construction of a new airport that would handle wide-bodied aircraft on land reclaimed from the sea. Supporters viewed the project as essential to the island's tourist development while opponents claimed that its construction would destroy offshore colonies of rare blue corals and would ruin the local fishing industry. Another environmental issue was the use of powerful chemicals on golf courses which in some cases harmed nearby residents.

Women's movement

Women's groups are in the forefront of the consumer movement. They include the National Federation of Regional Women's Associations, the Housewives Association, and the National Association of Consumer Cooperatives. Their activities depend on the support of neighborhood women's associations, the women's sections of local agricultural and fishing cooperatives, and government-sponsored consumer education groups. Although boycotts have been organized against companies making products that the groups viewed as dangerous like canned foods containing carcinogenic cyclamates, they do not, for the most part, demand lower prices for food or other goods. In tandem with agricultural interests, consumer groups oppose the influx of food imports on the grounds that the supply is unpredictable and are likely laced with dangerous additives.

Shimin

Another emergent consumer movement in Japan involves the notion of the individual and consumer rights (kenri). This is linked to the concept of the citizen or shimin, which is recognized as an "autonomous human being who, ideally, embodies the republican spirit of freedom and equality."^[2] The shimin became the basis of consumer activism that advances the power and privileges of the individuals in the political-economic sphere, which are protected by the Japanese laws.^[3] The idea is that if individuals cannot exercise their rights, then they cannot be considered autonomous, free, or equal. Thus, in this condition, shimin does not exist. This is the reason consumer activists consider consumer rights as inviolable.^[3] This outlook is important because the consumer mobilization in Japan goes against a strong Japanese state and the existence of the producer-political power at the center.^[4] Particularly, the Japanese tend to view the state as monolithic and powerful and the "consumer" began to be increasingly viewed as the ideal citizen capable of dealing with its oppression.^[5]

References

• http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/jptoc.html