An Exchange with Japanese Nonprofits

In the ED Forum, TSNE’s Executive Director Jonathan Spack reflects on issues facing nonprofit organizations. He invites your response to his columns. Please email info@tsne.org to share your thoughts on this month’s issue.

Jonathan Spack traveled to Japan in December 2007 with two colleagues from the NonprofitCenters Network in San Francisco. Third Sector New England developed and manages the NonProfit Center in Boston and is a founding member of NCN. Spack and his colleagues were invited by a group of Japanese nonprofit leaders to meet with colleagues there and present at symposia in Osaka and Nagoya.

Birth of the Nonprofit Sector

The modern nonprofit sector in Japan considers 1995 its watershed year. In January of that year, the city of Kobe was struck by a major earthquake which killed more than 6,400 people. It was a traumatic blow to the country, economically and emotionally. The disaster shook people’s confidence in their earthquake prevention and response systems, compelling the nation to reexamine other established societal norms.

One response to Kobe earthquake was a 1998 change in the laws to allow small civic groups to incorporate for the first time in Japanese history, albeit without tax deductibility for charitable contributions. Modifications in the laws since 1998 have provided for limited tax deductibility, but the tax system is still a major barrier to individual philanthropy.

Rapid Progress in a Brief Period

It would be presumptuous of me to think I have anything close to a complete picture of the Japanese nonprofit sector after such a brief visit. However, my conversations with colleagues and visits to nonprofit centers in several cities left some enduring impressions.

For one thing, although most nonprofit leaders in Japan were self-deprecating about the sophistication of their sector, I believe that in the short time since 1998, Japanese nonprofits have done a remarkable job of developing programs and infrastructure. They have quite a way to go to approach the size, visibility, financial support and influence enjoyed by U.S. nonprofits, but they have established a solid foundation. For example, the Japan Nonprofit Research Association has 1,200 members – roughly the same as its U.S. counterpart, ARNOVA.  

At the Core: Mission

In discussing my presentation with our hosts, I had expected they would want me to talk about the U.S. nonprofit sector in general, and capacity-building in particular. Not so. In essence they said, “Been there, done that.” They felt well-informed from previous visits from leading nonprofit researcher Lester Salamon of Johns Hopkins and others.

What they really wanted to hear about was strategic, operational and programmatic issues. How to maintain fidelity to mission while being dependent on government funding, how to develop leadership, how to create programming that’s responsive to community needs, how to make decisions, etc.   

Tools and Tactics to Stay Mission-Focused

In response to this feedback, I developed a presentation that included some tools we developed here at TSNE during 2006 and 2007 as we worked on a “strategic alignment” of our programs and systems.

Our decision-making model, for example, defines, in general terms, where certain types of decisions are made – by the board, the executive director, the management team, project managers, the whole staff. We also developed guidelines for staff participation in decision making. It all seemed quite logical, straightforward and respectful to me (which doesn’t mean it’s always easy to do). Indeed, our participatory decision-making model has some elements that mirror Japanese process-focused, consensus models. However, the fundamental cultural norms are quite different in Japan, so our tools and models don’t always translate easily.  

All in all, however, I found fewer differences than I anticipated between the sectors in our countries. The nonprofit centers I visited looked and felt quite similar to those in the United States.

As is the case across the U.S. third sector, many nonprofit workers in Japan are highly dedicated, overworked and underpaid. Many of the Japanese organizations also are heavily dependent on volunteers to accomplish their goals.

One big difference between our two countries’ nonprofit sectors is that U.S. tax laws encourage private philanthropy, so there is a great deal more financial support available for U.S. organizations.

Playing an Invaluable Role in Society

Despite significant fundraising obstacles, it was impressive to observe how far Japanese nonprofits have advanced over the past 10 years.

In early 1997, just a few months after the inaugural meeting of the Japan NPO Center, then Executive Secretary Yoshinori Yamaoka wrote that creating a Japanese nonprofit sector would be challenging, given the differences between the Japanese social system and that of the United States, where there is a much stronger tradition of individual philanthropic giving and volunteerism.

Just a decade later, Tamaki Onishi reported that there are signs of a rebirth of Japanese philanthropy and that the Japanese are noticeably improving their giving attitudes in the study.¹

Similarly, volunteerism, according to a JapanToday.com article earlier this month, “volunteerism in Japan is surging.”

So, our Japanese nonprofit counterparts, like our own third sector innovators, are striving to strengthen a transparent, vibrant and diverse civil society.

I hope that we can have many exchanges like the one I participated in this fall. By sharing knowledge and strategies, we can each better reach out goal to advance justice and equity throughout our communities and the world community.

1. “Current Conditions and Development Strategies of Philanthropy and Fundraising in Japan: A Comparative Study of the United States and Japan,” funded in part by the AFP Research Council and the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy.

January 2008