ABSTRACT
The research findings from this book point to three main factors influencing local political participation in Oita, Japan: 1) citizens’ personal attitudes towards politics; 2) social, business, and neighborhood memberships; and 3) design of institutionalized mechanisms of participation. The relationships established with public officials and the design and implementation of municipal participatory mechanisms informing and soliciting information affect citizens’ attitudes about politics and participation. If the city government wants to improve citizens’ views of government, ensure equal representation of all citizens, and enhance citizen participation with the city government, the following recommendations should be considered: 1) rethink and reorganize public meetings and structure to allow for citizen deliberation on policy; 2) publicize municipal participatory mechanisms well and make it easy for citizens to know how to participate if they want to; 3) deliberation and transparency – ensure that participation leads to policy and that the process can be seen by everyone; and 4) prioritize diverse participation by engaging underrepresented groups in the decision-making process, specifically women and young people.
