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Paper short abstract

Research on citizenship has emphasized national and global identities, while local and cultural understandings remain underexplored. Focusing on Japan, this study examines four citizenship identities - Kokumin, Shimin, Koumin, and Jumin - and their relationships with citizenship norms.

Paper long abstract

Studies on citizenship have predominantly focused on how national and global identities, as well as civic and ethnic forms of nationalism, shape various citizenship norms. However, the understanding of citizenship or citizenship identity at the local and cultural levels remains relatively underexplored. This study examines the case of Japan, where understandings of citizenship vary. In Japan, the term “citizen(ship)” has been interpreted and translated into four distinct collective identities – Kokumin, Shimin, Koumin, and Jumin – which can be literally translated as the people of the “Country”, “City”, “Public Space”, and “Residence” respectively. Studies on these concepts remain theoretical, and it is unclear which identity contributes to differing perceptions of good citizenship. Hence, an original survey was conducted in Japan (N = 900), and Ordinary Least Squares regressions were performed. The results indicate that Koumin is positively associated with both duty-based and engaged forms of citizenship, whereas attachment to Jumin is linked to a decline in engaged citizenship. While the effect of Koumin on both forms of citizenship diminishes with age, the effect of Jumin, by contrast, increases as age rises. However, while both Koumin and Jumin predict participation in protests and assemblies, neither showed a significant relationship with voting in elections. This study provides insight into the nuances of citizenship identity, attachment, and norms in the case of Japan. It not only lays the foundation for future research on citizenship behaviour in Japan but also offers a basis for cross-national studies to explore the local and cultural dimensions of citizenship.