A Brief Overview of Buddhist NGOs in Japan

Abstract

AT THE OUTSET, it should be noted that the term NGO, as it is adopted by Japanese civil society and socially-minded Buddhist organizations, has a specific meaning that differs from the Western conception. Non-governmental organization usually refers to a civic or civil society group active within a society. However, in the Japanese context, NGO refers specifically to a group engaged in cooperation activities (kokusai kyoryoku katsud6 HM9t AMt) and not directly focused on domestic issues within Japan (SHIMIZU 1999, p. 699). This rather unique understanding of the NGO speaks to the marginal nature of Buddhist NGOs as actors in domestic Japanese civil society. It also shows the broader struggle of civil society in Japan in the development of a public sphere autonomous from the state and corporate affiliations. Japanese Buddhist NGOs first emerged in the early 198os in response to the intensifying crisis in Indo-China with the boat people from Vietnam and the mass of Cambodian refugees living on the border of Thailand. Groups like the Buddhist Aid Center (BAC), created in 1982 mainly by priests from the Nichiren sect, were in part a response to criticism in the mainstream media that Buddhism had become irrelevant to modern society and that Buddhist priests had no concern for the general well-being of people. Another factor was the increasing international exposure that Japanese, and Japanese priests in particular, were getting as the economy prospered. Many Buddhist priests active in international aid expressed the shock and