A few things about my experience w/neighborhood associations, inspired by @Paul_Kreitman’s piece in @japantimes about them.

I enjoyed the piece and agree with many points. I’ll mostly let it speak for itself. I recommend that folks read it and draw their own conclusions.
1/18 https://twitter.com/Paul_Kreitman/status/1254390379157221377

One of Paul's points that I love:
Neighborhood associations are a Rorschach test.

I agree—many residents (nationality totally aside) dislike theirs, and see Japan's problems in it.

Overall, I'm a participation proponent. And I've tweeted much of the following before.
2/18

Many ppl will say their association is a bunch of busybodies and/or intrusive. I'm in no position to disagree w/individual experiences.

But neighborhood participation is a prime way to contribute and have influence here. It's a venue where one can work to improve things.
3/18

I was first in a 町会 in 2004. I stayed away from activities and was generally too cool for school about it, until a neighbor passed away and volunteers were sought out to help run the funeral.

Basically, my FIL made me go.
4/18

It was nerve-wracking to be part of a funeral. My assignment was to collect condolence envelopes, open them, count the money. I was sloppy and bad at it. But my partner was a banker. He schooled me, and even taught me that cool money-counting technique they do at banks.
5/18

Then I was herded into the post-cremation ceremony w/which many Japan residents are familiar. Handling my late neighbor's bones in randomly-assigned partnership w/another neighbor was solemn, but a bizarre experience—one of many that my teenage self wouldn't have believed.
6/18

The biggest bonding came next, at the 壇払い post-funeral meal. All neighbors were eating and drinking together. I'd met some, but this was when alcohol helped many to come say "I've seen you around, what's your deal?" (and of course praise chopstick/language skills).
7/18

After that single, minor neighborhood contribution, there was a marked difference neighbor interactions. No one had been cold to me before that, but they were familiar now, and actual conversations started to happen. Just knowing I could understand them probably helped.
8/18

When it was our household's turn to provide a 理事 officer, my FIL nudged me to do it. Then, at the meeting to choose the new association president, the most senior town elder—an ardent communist who knew I was an aide to an LDP MP—nominated me as association 書記 secretary.
9/18

Now I had to take minutes of every meeting. It was a pain. My predecessor taught me how to write out notes. With terrible handwriting and no chance of keeping up, I brought my laptop. That impressed the hell out of the town elders. I was hailed as a great innovator. Haha.
10/18

The main point: Now I could give input at mtgs. People listened because I had contributed time and effort. Being white and male surely helped. But this area had many historically matrilineal households whose women served as officers—it wasn't just a male thing, for example.
11/18

My other neighborhood association experience echoes Paul's piece: In disasters, associations go way beyond trash rule enforcement, becoming the conduit for shelter, food, water, supplies, etc. Receiving + hopefully contributing to that is aided by being active in peacetime.
12/18

I've mentioned it here before, but in Ishinomaki shortly after 3/11, I camped by a neighborhood association hall where many residents were living. However their experience was before the disaster, the neighborhood association was literally sustaining their lives.
13/18

In the covid-19 crisis, I see neighborhood associations as potentially both helpful and harmful. I'm not an officer of my current association, as they've exempted volunteer firefighters from having to serve. But I see important communication happening through it.
14/18

On the other hand, until recently, the neighborhood officers seemed to lack awareness that holding meetings was not a good idea in a pandemic. That message eventually got through, but I felt they were slow to recognize it.
15/18

Like most Japanese neighborhoods, ours includes a lot of aged persons. The neighborhood association is instrumental in keeping them active (table tennis clubs, karaoke, etc), and in making sure they're okay/checking on them if anything seems awry.
16/18

In the current crisis, they've cancelled gatherings, but the relationships and organization of the association (not necessarily exclusively through it, of course) are helping individuals to take care of each other, even if only by phone. I think that's a big benefit.
17/18

Neighborhood associations in Japan can be a pain. They aren't for everyone. But imho they're maybe your best chance—likely more than Twitter—
to contribute/have influence, if you put in time and effort.

END