Abstract
This main focus of this article is a case study that analyzes social media usage by a local municipality in Japan, and on the possibilities and problems of complementary communication channels such as social networking services for promoting civil society activities and linking civil society organizations. We examine how in the past, Japanese municipalities have been using social media and social networking services for enhancing civil society and how social networking services are a potential tool that can provide vital information and connect citizens, municipal governments and civil society. This article focuses on the first phase of the Tsukuba Civic Activities Cyber-Square [Tsukuba Shimin Katsudō no Hiroba] on Facebook Experiment in 2012 and how it functioned during and after the May 6, 2012 Tsukuba city tornado disaster for the subsequent relief and support activities during May 2012.
Highlights
This article analyzes social media usage by local municipalities in Japan, focusing on the possibilities and problems of complementary communication channels such as social networking services
After examining the literature on social media, its relationship with social capital, and the background of social media and its use among municipalities in Japan, we look at the Tsukuba Civic Activities Cyber-Square Experiment conducted by the City of Tsukuba in early 2012 and the events of the May 6, 2012 tornado
This article analyzes the first phase of an experiment in SNS usage by the Tsukuba municipal government in Japan, focusing on the possibilities and problems of complementary communication channels
Summary
This article analyzes social media usage by local municipalities in Japan, focusing on the possibilities and problems of complementary communication channels such as social networking services. This practical utilization suggests that this observed means of transmitting and receiving information is effective and potentially beneficial as a channel for municipal government communications Given this potential, in this article, we examine how the city of Tsukuba in Ibaraki prefecture utilized Facebook regularly on a trial basis for a six-month period in early 2012 as a means of enhancing social capital among its citizens. Management of social issues by the public sector alone is no longer possible in Japan, and this situation has offered opportunities for many citizen organizations and NPOs (non-profit organizations) to assume some of the roles that have traditionally been thought to be the responsibility of local Japanese governments In this new fiscal environment, policy-makers need to focus more on constructing and designing social systems that take advantage of available resources that enable them to accomplish their tasks, rather than creating new schemes or continuing to build new departments or structures. Overall declines in social capital discussed by Putnam (2000) can be avoided in Japan by using social media in the process of redesigning the concept of “community.”
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