Civil society seems to be both less influential and less visible in Japan than in America.

One obvious difference to be found is in the relative strengths of religious organizations in the two countries. In America, religious organizations perform a wide variety of functions- those in poorer areas often provide food and basic services to those in need; many in both rich and poor areas take strong stands on political issues. In Japan, while Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines are common enough, they do not play the same role in the lives of citizens- Shinto shrines, in particular, exist more to store sacred objects than to serve as places of worship. In America, the vast majority of the population claims to belong to some religion or other; in Japan the situation is the reverse. While it is true that not everyone in America who claims to be religious is devout, this phenomenon is even stronger in Japan- only 3% of the Japanese population attends weekly religious services, compared with 43% in America.

Charitable organizations are much more important in American society than Japanese society. In America, the Red Cross and Salvation Army are both famous organizations known by most all Americans and there are plenty of other similar groups.  Broadly speaking, the ethos of American society is individualistic. Many Americans express a distrust for government and collective action. This mentality leads to less SPSL Japanese society, on the other hand, is far more group-based. Even though the Japanese government does not spend particularly much, relative to other wealthy countries, there are strong societal protections against indigence, both in the form of make-work jobs and also, in the other direction, in the form of stigma directed at those who do not work.

This partly draws off the previous points, but Japan seems to lack the large civil society organizations that proliferate in America. In America, there are a large number of civil society groups that enjoy widespread support and recognition. In Japan, however, civil society organizations often have a parochial focus. The excerpt from the book on civil society in Japan talked about homeowner's associations as being one of the most powerful kinds of civil society organizations in Japan; such organizations are almost by definition limited to operating in a fairly small area. The article mentioned that this stems in part from the difficulty of forming an organization in Japan- government approval is needed for many NPOs, which stands in stark contrast to the system in America. A more cultural explanation is that certain kinds of civil society organizations (those which often criticize the government or speak for marginalized groups) are less likely to exist in a society that values conformity and unanimity. On the flip side, one can argue that the tendency for Japanese civil society organizations to be small is beneficial- homeowner's associations may not pull at the moral heartstrings in that same way that Greenpeace or Amnesty International do, but it could be argued that they are more responsive to the desires of their members and more able to make those desires into reality.

Museums

The three museums we went to each present a different image of Japan. Yushukan presents Japan during the late 19th and early 20th century as a heroic knight in shining armor, led by the glorious emperor to help others in Asia throw off the yolk of colonial powers. Opposition to Japanese policies during this period by western powers is attributed to covetousness, opposition from those colonized by Japan is portrayed as the product of irrational anti-Japanese sentiment. It is also determined to send the message that Japan did not truly "lose" World War II, which it does by pointing to the success of revolutionary movements after the war, making the (dubious) claim that those movements were inspired by the achievements of Japan. The idea that Japan did not really lose is also supported by the claim that the bond between the Japanese people and Emperor continue to be unbreakable and that the forced implementation of a democratic form of government after the war was merely a return to the principles of the Charter Oath, a document promulgated by the Meiji Emperor in 1868 that outlined broad principles of of governance. This is another dubious proposition, as the Charter Oath led only to the creation of an oligarchic government, rather than a full democracy.

The Hiroshima Peace Museum presents an image of Japan as a victim of an unprecedented act, which is not altogether unreasonable given the subject of the museum. The early years of the war are dealt with quickly- Japanese atrocities are not ignored, but they are addressed in a cursory and slightly slanted fashion- and what follows is an detailed focus on the effects of the atomic bombing and its history. The main purpose of the museum is to emphasize the enormity of the destruction wreaked upon Hiroshima and to advocate against the use and possession of nuclear weapons in the present day. This museum is very much in keeping with Japan's postwar image of a nation that was determined to discard its past focus on war, while at the same time not entirely taking responsibility for the damage inflicted upon other countries by Japanese aggression.

The Ritsumeikan Peace Museum is the only one of the three to look at something resembling the entirety of Japan's war experience. When it to comes to the experience of the average citizen, the Hiroshima Peace Museum focuses on suffering caused by the atomic bombing of the city- an important topic, but one that leaves out the vast majority of Japan's population, while the Yushukan shows the ostensibly boundless desire of the Japanese people to fight and die for the Emperor. The Ritsumeikan museum does not shy away from mentioning Japanese atrocities and aggression and it also focuses on the ways in which in the war affected the everyday lives of Japanese citizens (in a more complex manner than the simple valorization of Yushukan). It also takes a broader look at issues of war and peace by providing information on more recent violent struggles like the Vietnam War and Israel-Palestine conflict that have taken place outside of Japan and by looking at the deeper causes of violence.

Unexpected

One thing I have been pleasantly surprised by is that food and other necessities don't seem to cost much more than in America. I have always had a vague idea that "Japan is expensive" and while it may be that a) land, which we are only paying for in a very indirect sense, is still quite costly and/or b) we are in an area that is cheaper because of the presence of a large university, basic items like bottled water and generic snacks about the same price as in America. Similarly, restaurant food doesn't seems to be somewhat cheaper than it is in America, though the sample size for this case is small. This is a classic example of the old "don't knock it unless you've tried it" nostrum, though perhaps that sentiment will change again when we get to Tokyo.

One surprise for me has been the number of motorcycles. I had never thought of Japan as having many motorcycles, but there seem to be far more of them here than at home. It may simply be that America has very few motorcycles compared to most other countries.

To offer up a slightly "deeper" societal insight, Japan seems to have a large number of people (relative to America at least) employed in certain quasi-menial jobs relating to interacting with and directing other people. There are far more traffic cops here than in America and there also seem to be more greeters. I'm not sure whether to view this as a positive or a negative- on one hand these kinds of jobs don't seem like the sort that lead to future advancement, but on the other hand they allow older people to continue earning money and they also may reinforce societal norms that are perceived to be beneficial.

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial website has a wide variety of information about the bombing of Hiroshima and its effects. Viewers can learn some about Japan during the war and the events that led up to the creation of “Little Boy,” the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6^th 1945. There are guides to the exhibits in the museum and the layout of the museum. There is an exhibit on the recovery of Hiroshima after the war, which

The site home to all sorts of anti-nuclear advocacy material. There are assorted messages against nuclear weapons scattered across the site and there is a section on the “peace declarations” issued by mayors of Hiroshima every year on August 6^th. These messages started out as broad calls for worldwide peace and understanding, but have come to include include to calls for the elimination of nuclear weapons and topical remarks- in 1965 there was criticism of the Vietnam War and 1991 featured a declaration of regret over Japanese colonial aggression.

There's a “kids section” that includes a simplified guide to different types of radiation and the story of the atomic bomb's creation. That section also has a wealth of content related to Sadako Sasaki, who died of leukemia in 1955 and became posthumously famous as a symbol of the destruction wrought by the bombing of Hiroshima. Years ago, I read Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes and I still remember it as one of the saddest books I have ever read, so I found this section the most interesting.

One thing I am curious about the museum itself is the balance between content tied directly to the atomic bombings and broader material. The site seems to have much more of the former (e.g the "steps toward peace" has a section on the quest for the abolition of nuclear weapons and on the recovery of Hiroshima), but the name of the museum suggests something broader to me.