This course provides a broad overview of history and phenomena of NPOs and NGOs in Japan. We consider the possibilities and challenges of NPOs/NGOs through the various perspectives and actual cases. The activities of NPOs/NGOs have pioneered new social business and have played key roles in various fields of environment, international aid, social welfare, and education. We have understood that the emergence of NPOs has been significant since the Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake in Kobe. However, the history and the reality have not been fully well known, even though NPOs in private sector have taken roles historically in public-interest activities in Japan.
The objective of this class is to understand the history, the current situation and the characteristics of NPOs/NGOs in Japan from actual cases and various data. The goal is not to understand “know-how” of establishment and management of NPOs, but to be able to explain significance of existence, effectiveness and potentiality of such activities and organizations based on objective facts and your own ideas.