Japan as a changing civil society: Public philosophy and the three-sector model

Introduction One of the most significant changes in the last ten years in Japan is the increase in the registration of non-profit organization (NPO) corporations as legal entities. With enforcement of the Nonprofit Activities Promotion Law in December 1998, the number of NPO registrations had reached more than 30,000 by the beginning of 2007. Since 2003 more than 5,000 civil society organizations have been registered as NPOs annually.