ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on ethnographic fieldwork among one of the most notorious of such groups in Japan, named "Taiyo Komuten". As participating in group activities becomes a significant part of their lives, Taiyo members begin to consider fellow members to be friends. The chapter provides an evidence-based analysis of the possible relationship between football fandom and fan happiness. It shows that organized football fan groups constitute a relatively new form of post-traditional community that is different from similar groupings in Japan. The unique characteristics of the J-League – being built on regional support and promoted as a leisure activity – have helped create a fan culture that successfully transcends the social structure of Japanese society. A contributing factor to the members' subjective well-being is that they experience a relatively large degree of freedom. Although self-policing has been working well for the most part, there are some risks that arise from the deviant behavior of organized football fan groups in Japan.
