JAPANESE NETWORK CAPITAL: THE IMPACT
OF SOCIAL NETWORKS ON JAPANESE
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
Ken’ichi Ikeda and Sean E. Richey
Recent scholarship shows that social capital has a large influence on political behavior.
Social capital’s definition includes trust, norms of reciprocity, and social networks. Most
studies, however, ignore the networking component. Here, we test the influence of
social networks on political participation using new Japanese survey data. We separately
test the effects of involvement in formally organized voluntary associations and informal
social networks. We also examine whether hierarchical networks have a different impact
on participation than equal relationships. To determine if networks with bridging or
bonding social capital affect participation differently, we also measure the openness to
outsiders of these networks. Negative binomial regression models indicate a strong
positive relationship between formal and informal social networking—including net-
work hierarchy and some forms of openness—and political participation.
Key words: social capital; social networks; Japanese political behavior.
INTRODUCTION
Do social networks influence political participation? Recent scholarship
shows that social capital greatly influences political behavior (e.g., Putnam,
2000). Social capital is defined as trust, norms of reciprocity, and social net-
works (Putnam, 1995). Yet, most social capital studies ignore the networking
component, and focus only on the political impact of trust and reciprocity
Ken’ichi Ikeda, Professor, Department of Social Psychology, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1
Hongo, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan (ikeken@l.u-tokyo.ac.jp). Sean E. Richey, Visiting
Scholar, Department of Social Psychology, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-Ku,
Tokyo 113-0033, Japan (srichey@l.u-tokyo.ac.jp).
Political Behavior, Vol. 27, No. 3, September 2005 (
2005)
DOI: 10.1007/s11109-005-5512-0
239
0190-9320/05/0900-0239/0
2005 Springer ScienceþBusiness Media, Inc.

(Freitag, 2003). In this study, we test the influence of social networks on
political participation. There are, however, vast differences in networks and
the types of interaction in these networks. Therefore, we evaluate the influ-
ence of both involvement in organized voluntary associations and informal
networks. In addition, we examine whether hierarchical or equal networks
influence participation differently. We also measure network openness to
outsiders to determine how bridging and bonding social capital affect par-
ticipation. Using newly available Japanese national-sample survey data, we
create negative binomial regression models of political participation and so-
cial networking that control for political interest, efficacy, civic duty, local
interest, ideology, mobilization, and socioeconomic differences. The results
show a strong positive relationship between social networking—including
network hierarchy and some forms of openness—and political participation.
It is important to test the network portion of social capital theory in a
non-Western democracy, where networks are purportedly more closed and
hierarchical (Ikeda, 2002). The traditional conception of social capital is in
an idealized Toquevillian environment of equals interacting with large
diverse groups (Gannett, 2003). This is the ideal setting for this theory,
even though America may not have been as diverse or equal as Toqueville
describes. Allegedly, Japan has fewer situations of social equality and inter-
actions with those outside one’s close-knit group than America. If the cul-
tural and societal bonds of social networks are different, then perhaps these
differences alter the impact of social capital. Social capital studies on Japan
are rare, due in part to the lack of survey data.1 Despite this, it is important
to analyze Japanese political behavior. As Inoguchi (2000) states, ‘‘Japan is
an interesting case since it is one of the very few countries among non-
Western nations that have been practising democratic politics for as long as
50 years’’ (Inoguchi, 2000, p. 74). Thus, this research is important because
of its implications on how social capital theory applies to non-Western cul-
tures, particularly those with traditionally hierarchical and closed social net-
works.
SOCIAL CAPITAL AS SOCIAL NETWORKS
There is growing recognition of the importance of social capital in the
last ten years. Ostrom and Ahn (2003) state that only fourteen social capital
papers were published annually between 1992 and 1995, but between 1998
and 2000 the number increased to 150 per year. Particularly, Putnam’s
studies of Italian and American social capital triggered numerous empirical
tests as well as theoretical controversies (Putnam, 1993, 2000), including
several comparative studies. Most focus on the ‘‘bowling alone’’ thesis of
whether social capital is declining at an aggregate level. For example,
Putnam, Pharr, and Dalton (2000) focus on the relationship between
240 IKEDA AND RICHEY