ABSTRACT
Civil society organisations in Japan, which are financially reliant on local government, increase activities, especially at the grassroots level and, rather than taking a competitive position, cooperate with local government to deal with problems such as a super-ageing society, a declining local economy, and large-scale disasters. In terms of the relationship between citizen activities and local governments, it can be said that the latter’s overwhelming support for their resources is essential for successful collaboration.
Underlying these community-based activities are substantial changes in the Japanese government and the challenges it faces. Decentralisation and cuts to central government grants have impaired Japanese local governments with shrinking financial resources, who then must attempt to mobilise other community resources. Some officers themselves become coordinators to connect various resources outside government. Through collaborative projects such as developing community funds, various local resources (individuals, ideas, knowledge, and money) are linked to be actively circulated in the community. By investigating a case of a developing community fund and social impact bond (SIB) project in a suburban area, this chapter analyses the factors that underlie effective collaboration between Japanese local governments with limited administrative resources and citizen activities with various service deliveries, and the process that affects the development of governance capacity in the community.
