Abstract
This paper examines how social media are affecting Japanese civil society organizations, in relation to efficacy and political participation. Using data from the 2017 Japan Interest Group Study survey, we analyzed how the flow of information leads to the political participation of civil society organizations. The total number of respondents (organizations) were 1285 (942 organizations in Tokyo and 343 from Ibaraki). In the analysis of our survey we focused on the data portion related to information behavior and efficacy and investigated the meta-cognition of efficacy in lobbying among civil society organizations in Tokyo and Ibaraki. We found that organizations that use social media were relatively few. However, among the few organizations that use social media, we found that these organizations have a much higher meta-cognition of political efficacy in comparison to those that do not use social media. For instance, social media usage had a higher tendency of having cognition of being able to exert influence upon others. We also found that organizations that interact with citizens have a higher tendency to use social media. The correspondence analysis results point towards a hypothesis of how efficacy and participation are mutually higher among the organizations that use social media in Japan.
Highlights
The actual political power among civil society organizations are often found to be marginal, and this holds true for these organizations in Japan as well
As the civil society organizations in this study are non-profit, they are involved in activities such as conducting seminars and symposia, proliferating information and training skills for members
When we put this measurement into consideration, we found that civil society organizations that use social media may have a higher self-efficacy of influence
Summary
The actual political power among civil society organizations are often found to be marginal, and this holds true for these organizations in Japan as well They are often at a disadvantage due to lacking in various resources, especially human and financial. They often lack the wealth of networks or connections that are held by more well-established organizations, such as political parties For these organizations that are lacking in resources, it is vital for their survival to implement innovation, such as usage of new media platforms in their daily operations. The measurement of “Efficacy” in Table 2 refers to the meta-cognition of efficacy of influence among civil society organizations When we put this measurement into consideration, we found that civil society organizations that use social media may have a higher self-efficacy of influence. Our rationale behind this suggestion lies in the fact that among the civil society organizations that use social media, the measurement of efficacy of influence has a higher mean than those that do not use social media
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