August 2011
From a Survey on Society and Living
Koichi Takahashi / Hiroko Murata
In Japanese society today, with an increase of unmarried people and elderly people living alone, more people are losing social connections, and collapse of local communities is advancing. Against this backdrop, it is becoming more important for each community to support individuals and it is indispensable to think about how to engage those with little interest in society. The author conducted a public opinion survey in an attempt to understand people who are indifferent to social participation based on a key concept of “interest." The following were the main findings.
As to the relation between levels of interest in society and life consciousness, it is revealed that the more mental leeway one has, the more interested in society he is, and that the more content with life, the more interested, showing that discontent not necessarily prompt people to watch society.
Among those with little interest in society, a large number of respondents think one can do whatever he wants unless it does not bother the others, and not many respondents see mutual cooperation important. Regarding the relations between society and themselves, in this group, less people “try to improve the world starting from a community close to me, considering what I should do in the context of my everyday life” than among those with higher interest in society. Nevertheless, even of those with little interest in society, about 20% “try to improve the world.”
As to media use and media evaluation, many of those with little interest in society use television for various purposes such as “to obtain credible information” and “to access information which are usually not disclosed,” while not many use the Internet.
It is also revealed that there is no big difference in the awareness on topics such as root cause generating needy population, discrimination, or whether Japan is heading for the better.