Promoting the Society of Mutual
Assistance
Aiming to build new “ties”(Summary)

March 2015
Council for Promotion of the Society ofMutual AssistanceTable of Contents
Introduction
1. What is the “Society of Mutual Assistance”?
2. Efforts and Challenges of Actors of Mutual Assistance: Eight Agents and 24
Challenges(1) Local residents(Challenges 1-2)
(2) Community-based organizations(Challenges 3-4)(3) NPOs, etc.
(Challenges 5-7)(4) Companies(Challenges 8-11)(5) Social enterprises(Challenges 12-14)(6) Regional financial institutions(Challenges 15-17)(7) Educational institutions(Challenges 18-20)(8) Government(Challenges 21-24)
Column 1) Current situations and challenges of volunteer activities
Column 2) Current situations and challenges of donations
3. Concrete Image of the Society of Mutual Assistance We Should Aim for andPaths to Realize Such a Society: Three Images and 27 Paths(1) Establishing ties
(Paths 1-9)(i) Place for the society of mutual assistance(ii) Roles of NPOs, etc.
(2) Vitalizing local communities(Paths10-18)(i) Regional financial institutions(ii) Companies, etc.
(iii) Community-based organizations and educational institutions(3) Promoting participation(Paths19-27)(i) Significance of volunteer activities and donations(ii) Expanding the number of volunteers and breeding of the culture ofdonation(iii) Fund flows within the community
Conclusion
Bibliography
Image of the “society of mutual assistance” we should aim for proposed bymembers of the Council for Promotion of the Society of Mutual Assistance
List of charts(Document 1) Summary of major issues raised at the meeting of the Council for
Promotion of the Society of Mutual Assistance, etc.
(Document 2) Regarding the discussion at the 2013 working group
List of members of Council for Promotion of the Society of Mutual Assistance
Process of discussion
2Introduction
In our country, the issues of a declining population and a super-aging society are
rapidly worsening. In particular, local communities are faced with manychallenges. Such challenges are not limited to just the severe financial situation
and a shrinking consumer market but also include exhausted economies andproblems with medical and long-term care caused by serious labor shortages,
diminished public transportation networks, responses needed to frequentdisasters and global competitors. In addition, as challenges become more diverseand more complex, it becomes apparent that there are limitations in a variety ofaspects in addressing such challenges only through the traditional efforts ofgovernment, and it is pointed out that there are concerns over the frayed safety
net systems.
In order to improve such a situation and lead to sustainable and stable economic
development, first of all, we should engage in efforts tailored to our different
regional characteristics while recognizing and sharing a sense of crisis among allof the people. To that end, it is essential to have a spirit of mutual assistance, thatis to support each other, establish organic ties among the diverse agents andovercome the challenges together, rather than a one-sided relationship between
providers and receivers of support or dependence on others.
In addition to agents such as community associations, fire brigades and shopping
districts which have been playing an prominent role in the local community,
various other agents should be included in order to promote the society of mutual
assistance: Corporations and other organizations which are engaged in publicinterest activities such as specified non-profit corporations (NPOs), privatecompanies, operators of social enterprises, financial institutions, educationalinstitutions, the government, and then each of local residents. All people must
share an awareness that they play their own role as actors in the promotion of
the society of mutual assistance.
From such a perspective, the Council for Promotion of the Society of Mutual
Assistance has discussed the image of the society of mutual assistance that weshould aim for and the efforts made by the various agents who support the societyof mutual assistance.
Also, in our country where regional revitalization and promotion of the work-lifebalance are critical issues, promotion of the society of mutual assistance plays
an important role, and its importance will be increasing in the future.
We hope that this report will be a milestone in the promotion of the society ofmutual assistance in Japan.

31．What is the “Society of Mutual Assistance”?
There are growing concerns about the future among local residents, including
concerns over shortages of human resources that will support the community, as
well as facilities for medical and long-term care, and concerns over weakened
local economies. On the other hand, the majority of people believe that voluntary
efforts made by local residents are important to address these social needs andchallenges. In fact, in the event of a major disaster, mutual aid between local
residents plays an important role in things like living assistance and this in turnlargely depends on the degree of relationships or ties that neighbors haveestablished in daily lives.
However, it is difficult to expect residents alone to support each other in thecommunity in a traditional manner, considering a current situation, where thepopulation is rapidly declining and aging while fewer babies are being born, andrelationships or community-based ties are weakening, particularly in urban areas..
Meanwhile, diverse agents, such as the NPOs and general/public interest
corporations, etc. (NPOs, etc.), private companies, social enterprises operators,
financial institutions, educational institutions and the government, have started totake part in activities aimed to solve local challenges and involved in thepromotion of the society of mutual assistance.
We expect that more diverse actors will participate in such efforts and vitalize
their activities in the future. In the society of mutual assistance, it is important thatsuch diverse actors cooperate with each other to support local residents and theresidents themselves also choose to participate as an actor in activities that fit
their values and living situation.
In particular, it is significant that people such as youth who could not find theirplace in the community, the elderly who tend to be isolated, and women whocould hardly raise their voice, all participate actively, not passively, in thepromotion of the society of mutual assistance in their community. As they start tohave opportunities or places to participate in the community, it is expected thatthe unheard voices of vulnerable people will be reflected in the local community.
This will help to vitalize the communities and create new “ties” among the people,
which leads to the revitalization of new regional communities.
Furthermore, the ties between people and the capacity of the community will bea base for the resilience and vitalization of the community. Similarly, byparticipating in the society in a meaningful manner, all people can make their life
more active which in turn will lead to the realization of robust growth in our country.

4From that perspective, we believe that the image of the society of mutual
assistance that we should aim for is:

The society built up by all, where new “ties” are established, whilethe various values and wills of individuals are respected.
In promoting the revitalization of the Japanese economy and regionalcommunities, it is important for all the various agents to engage in activities intheir familiar areas in the spirit of “mutual assistance,” that is, to help and support
each other, while maintaining a spirit of “self-reliance” which means taking careof their own issues. Also, it is necessary to work on establishment of systems andmechanisms from the perspectives of those actually engaged in the relevant
activities, in order to encourage such movements and maximize their capacity to“promote the society of mutual assistance”.
In doing so, we believe that we should aim to realize the “society of mutualassistance”, that is, a ‘society built up by all, where new “ties” are established,
while the various values and wills of individuals are respected’ and opportunities
and places for their participation are offered to each individual.
In this report, we organized the efforts and challenges of the various actors
involved in the society of mutual assistance into eight agents and 24 challenges.
We also set the year 2020 when the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will takeplace as our goal in working to promote the society of mutual assistance, andpresented specific efforts to be made as three images and 27 paths.

5Eight Agents and 24 Challenges
< (1) Local residents>
Challenge 1: Recognize the challenges which exist in the local community and have anawareness as a stakeholder
Challenge 2: Establish a better local community through making efforts for mutualassistance< (2) Community-based organizations>
Challenge 3: Share information such as the contents of activities of community-basedorganizations
Challenge 4: Vitalize activities by community-based organizations, etc.
< (3) NPOs, etc.>
Challenge 5: Share information on volunteer or donation opportunities
Challenge 6: Develop human resources in intermediary organizations and reinforce
their financial base
Challenge 7: Identify and share local challenges< (4) Companies>
Challenge 8: Increase a role of companies as actors that support the community
Challenge 9: Promote sustainable development of companies through CSR activities
Challenge 10: Actively share information on the CSR activities of companies
Challenge 11: Increase employees’ motivation and establish social brands through CSRactivities< (5) Social enterprises>
Challenge 12: Make social enterprises economically self-reliant
Challenge 13: Improve management know-how of social enterprise operators
Challenge 14: Facilitate local SMEs’ entry into social enterprises< (6) Regional financial institutions>
Challenge 15: Increase a role of regional financial institutions as advisors
Challenge 16: Promote information exchange and mutual understanding among
financial institutions and NPOs, etc.
Challenge 17: Establish a local platform for cooperation centering around regional
financial institutions< (7) Educational institutions>
Challenge 18: Develop human resources that will play a central role in promoting thesociety of mutual assistance in the future by educational institutions
Challenge 19: Increase the opportunities of CSR activities in school education
Challenge 20: Promote CSR activities by universities as local bases< (8) Government>
Challenge 21: Understand the importance of solving challenges through voluntary efforts
Challenge 22: Need cooperation within government and in a wider area amongneighboring local governments
Challenge 23: Need researches on the impact of providing grants for NPO activities, etc.
Challenge 24: Expect government employees to play a role as coordinators to solve localchallenges

6Three Images and 27 Paths
< (1) Establishing ties >Path 1: Establish “places for the society of mutual assistance” according to regional
characteristics
Path 2: Share information on challenges and attractiveness of the local community andset up a discussion forum
Path 3: Establish “places for the society of mutual assistance” by the various agentsand expand the scope of their activities
Path 4: Develop human resources to serve as coordinators to solve local challenges
Path 5: Vitalize personnel exchanges beyond each sector
Path 6: Establish new ties between people through NPO activities, etc.
Path 7: Increase the number of those who sympathize with NPO activities, etc. througha system of “visible” participation
Path 8: Provide effective consulting services in collaboration with experts
Path 9: Expand the scope of NPO activities, etc. through the participation of women,
the elderly and youth< (2) Vitalizing local communities >Path 10: Vitalize local communities through reinforcing the foundations of diverse agentsin the community
Path 11: Vitalize the activities of regional financial institutions aiming for coexistence andmutual prosperity with the community
Path 12: Establish a system for regional financial institutions to utilize the know-how ofretired employees
Path 13: Engage in efforts to link the core businesses of companies with solution ofsocial challenges
Path 14: Make efforts toward self-reliance and development of social enterprises
Path 15: Promote the socialization of local SMEs
Path 16: Restore “Kinjyo” relationships (relationships of mutual assistance withneighbors) using opportunities of disaster drills, etc.
Path 17: Promote CSP activities in the school curriculum
Path 18: Promote Development and certification of experts by universities incollaboration with companies, NPOs, etc. and the government< (3) Promoting participation>
Path 19: Organic collaboration with CSR and pro-bono activities of companies
Path 20: Develop an environment where people can easily participate in volunteer
activities
Path 21: “Visualize” volunteer activities
Path 22: Develop fund flows within the community through experience of successful
donations
Path 23: Improve the fund-raising capacity of fund raisers and reinforce the foundations
Path 24: Increase recognition of community foundations and civil funds in the local
community
Path 25: Promote collaboration among community foundations and civil funds, andreinforce their functions
Path 26: Vitalize fund flows in the community through promotion of social investments
Path 27: Consider various efforts to expand social investments

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Conclusion
In this report, we proposed to work on “promotion of the society of mutualassistance” as a prescription to overcome many structural challenges that local
communities face, such as the deterioration of the economic situation or thedecline of local communities caused by the declining population and a superaging society.
Challenges for the local communities are getting more diverse and more complex.
It is natural that there are diverse prescriptions for such challenges and it will takea significant time to solve them. This is why we believe that we should not solely
depend on the traditional efforts made mainly by the government but also needto create a society of mutual assistance where all of the various actors in the localcommunity, such as local residents and companies, actively participate and help
each other. In doing so, what is important is nothing but respect for the diverse
values and wills of individuals.
What is needed is a spirit of mutual assistance to support each other, establish
organic ties among the diverse agents and overcome the challenges together,rather than a one-sided relationship between providers and receivers of support
or dependence on others. We believe that the ‘establishment of new “ties”
among people’ and shared thoughts, “shared feelings” or “sympathies” throughsuch ties will improve the capacity of communities and serve as an important
driving force toward solutions of various challenges that local communities face.
Finally, along with discussions within the Council for Promotion of the Society of
Mutual Assistance, we organized meetings of the “Regional Council for
Promotion of the Society of Mutual Assistance” in 11 different places across thecountry in fiscal 2014, from the perspective of deepening discussions of thechallenges which are unique to regional communities or solutions for suchchallenges. Local residents and those who are actually engaged in activities asactors in the local communities, such as local governments, NPOs, etc.,
community associations and companies, participated in these meetings andactively exchanged opinions. In preparing this report, we largely relied on theiropinions we received on these meetings. We would like to thank again the local
governments and NPOs, etc. for their efforts in organizing these meetings1.

Nobuhiro Okuno
Chairman, the Council for Promotion of the Society of Mutual Assistance1

Opinions provided during the council meetings but were not included in the body of thisreport are re-organized in line with the items of this report and attached as a separate pieceof reference material titled “Major Issues”.
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