W-3. Percentage of daily free time hours spent in volunteering and social participation
1.Current Values
1.03% (2001)
4 minutes (volunteer activities) / 388 minutes
(time allowed for tertiary activities)
2.Current Points (out of a perfect score of 100 by 2050)
10 points
Calculation method:
(Current value - minimum value) / (2050 target
value - minimum value) x 100
3. Explanation of Indicator
The welfare and quality of life are
supported and heightened by community sharing
("commons"). Although Japan has had
traditional means of community sharing ("commons")
such as yui (mutual assistance), kou (clubs and
associations) and za (gatherings ), the post-war
pursuit of efficiency and individualism has diminished
the time spent in doing these activities, bringing
about a breakdown in community. For the future,
with human and cultural diversity increasing in
localities, we encourage individuals to give a
reasonable amount of time from their lives to
build community, thereby heightening mutual welfare.
In the "Survey on Time Use and Leisure Activities"
by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications,
participation in civic activities is a part of
the free time (tertiary activities) that exclude
work, sleep and mealtimes, and JFS is using as
an indicator the percentage of tertiary activities
time spent on civic activities.
4.Target for 2050
10.0%
5.Ideal for the Future
10.0%
6. Rationale for Ideal and Target Values
Because volunteering and social activities
are done on one's own initiative, it's impossible
to determine an ideal value, but even from a global
perspective an average of 4 minutes a day is an
extremely low figure.
In the United States, where volunteer activities
are well established, the daily average is 30.9
minutes (3.6 hours per week in the year 2000),
and in Canada it is 26.6 minutes (162 hours per
year, in 2000). In a full day of living, there
are 6 hours and 28 minutes for tertiary activities
(free time), excluding sleeping and eating (primary
activities), and work, schooling, and household
chores (secondary activities).
If we, for convenience, were to increase the time
up to 40 minutes per day, slightly above the level
of United Stats and Canada, that would be about
10% of free time, which is what we have chosen
as our ideal for 2050.
7. Source
The
Statistics Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of
Internal Affairs and Communications "Survey
on Time Use and Leisure Activities" (Japanese
only)
8. Notes
"Volunteering" is defined
as "contributing to society of one's free
will by willingly offering one's skill and/or
time" (Council for Lifelong Learning). Furthermore,
it is "actions done of one's own accord,
based on the motives of charity and service, self-fulfillment,
mutual assistance, and reciprocity" (Council
for People's Daily Life). As for the indicator
we adopted here, "volunteering" is defined
as "activities performed, not for the purpose
of remuneration, but for the benefit of one's
local society, individuals or organizations, through
the offering of one's own labor, skills, and time".