How active are community activities in Japan? A comprehensive analysis of participation frequency, motivation, and status of activities

Local communities have several desirable functions. Simultaneously, the weakening of community ties in Japan has made sustaining these functions a major challenge. To address this challenge, municipalities should encourage residents to participate in community activities and provide management support. To promote such measures appropriately, we require a comprehensive understanding of the extent to which people participate in each activity and how they perceive them. Therefore, we conducted a survey of 454 Japanese participants, asking about 26 types of community activities (14 community-wide, seven around the home, and five among neighbors). For each activity, the participants were asked about their participation frequency and motivation to engage. In addition, regarding community-wide activities, we asked about their implementation status. The results revealed that for almost all activities, both participation frequency and motivation were substantially below the midpoint of the scale. Cluster analysis of participation frequency and motivation identified four clusters: “both moderate,” “both slightly low,” “both low,” and “both very low.” Most community-wide activities fell into the “both very low” cluster. Therefore, to revitalize local communities, it may be more effective to encourage participation in activities around the home or among neighbors before promoting community-wide activities. Our findings offer guidance to municipalities for determining which community activities should be promoted.