ABSTRACT
Thereareanumberofinsightswhichpointtothewaysinwhich modernJapaneselocalitiesarechanging.First,itshouldberecognizedthatpreoccupationwithlocalaffairsnowvariesaccording totherelevanceofdifferentissuestodifferentsegmentsofthe localpopulation:inotherwords,participationinlocalaffairshas becomeselective.Intheearly1960sJohnson(1963:223)showed howinvolvementwiththeruralhamlethadbeguntobecarried notbythecommunityasawholebutbycertaingroups,especially womenandchildren.Writingaboutawhite-collarresidential suburbofTokyo,Vogel(1963:chap.VI)describesthetendency towardsseparateinvolvementonthepartofmenontheonehand andwomenandchildrenontheother:themaninhis'company gang·andthetwoothergroupsinlocalaffairs.5Thislastpoint highlightshow,ratherthanhavingdisappeared,participationin localaffairshasbecomemorespecialized:i.e.ithascometo dependmoreandmoreonalocale'sabilitytoservetheinterests ofspecificcommunitygroups.
