ABSTRACT
Permissive conditions, especially an open political system that allows newcomers to enter the political arena, rising post-material values among the urbanites, and rapid urbanization, have contributed to the Seikatsu Club’s (SC’s) expansion. These permissive conditions are necessary but not sufficient for its rise. Favorable conditions such as an open system, rapid urbanization, and changing mass values must be seized by mobilizers before they are translated into social action. Especially useful is the focus on the various resources of SC members, including affluence, high levels of education, and free time to participate in social movement activities. Owning such resources does not automatically lead women to become social activists. They have to be mobilized by leaders and organizations to join the co-op rather than other competing social activities. While more Japanese appear to express post-material attitudes in opinion polls, post-material political behavior is still relatively weak. Thus, mass sympathies for certain Green issues are not automatically translated into political activism or votes for a New Politics party. Competition and the presence of formidable rivals in a pluralist system, the end of rapid urbanization, and the difficult task of mobilizing even voters with post-material values to support NET partially explains why the Greens are not a major political force in Japan.
