As a result, the report issued by the commission took the unusual step of giving equal weight to opinions for and against organ transplants from brain-dead donors. Because, of course, they did not see themselves as having nothing to do with it. They believed they had every right to speak out. Their conviction must have been rooted in the unquestioned belief in a natural right to override the law. To explain why, I need to discuss the meaning of society in the sense of the public, or people in general.
Society is the expression of community as seen from within.
Because Japan is an island country, historically it had almost no exposure to completely different societies. This meant there was no need for an expression of community as seen from without. There are many societies, including schools, companies, government offices, the neighborhood, acquaintances, and most broadly Japanese society as a whole. These societies are like nested boxes. Almost all Japanese participate in several homogeneous societies.