“Jichikai” (Community Circle) is a network for regional inhabitants

It has long been reputed worldwide that Japan is a safe place to live, although this reputation has been bothered recently. The reasons for this level of safety has been studied in foreign countries and the general conclusion seems that it is because of the nationwide network of police boxes, or 'koban.' But behind the scenes, a community system exists that supports the creation of safe towns by regional people through their information network.

Usually, a jichikai (community circle) exists as a unit in a local area called "hon-machi or hon-cho" for example, which consists of a city, town and village. Jichikai activities include park cleaning days, locating garbage dumps, planning events such as the Bon festival, demonstrating what to do in case of fire or earthquakes, organizing donations, and so on. Besides committee members such as a chairman and a vice-chairman who handle many kinds of issues based on the community policy, there are block leaders representing a large number of families, who pass information from the committee to the families.

Committee information is usually passed on to families via a thick notice board, on which memorandums are attached with a large clip and then circulated to each family. After reading it, each family stamps a seal on it or signs it and passes it to the house next door. In the end, the board returns to the block leader. In this way everybody can receive the information.

Getting on well with your neighbors is a step to enjoying a pleasant stay in Japan
The annual community fee is around 3,000 yen, which is used for community activities including donations, events, making community member lists, among other things. Many foreigners are not familiar with this kind of system. But in order to get on well with the neighbors, it is best for them to participate in various kinds of voluntary work including cleaning parks. If you show a positive attitude, your neighbors' attitude towards you will change and you will be able to form good relationships with them.

In big cities many people live in apartment houses, and some of them do not cooperate in their community circle. One of the big issues that communities in big cities have is garbage dumps. Disposal procedures differ by city, but generally garbage should be disposed of in a semi-transparent bag on fixed days at a fixed place. The garbage must be separated into burnable and unburnable items. Some city offices oblige people to stick a purchased seal on their garbage bags.

Japanese people generally obey rules, not only for the disposal of garbage, while some foreigners living in Japan don't. This may be due to different customs, or that relevant information doesn't reach them, or that they are indifferent or simply ignore them. The Japanese seldom criticize these people in public, but rather tend to form an unpleasant attitude towards them. As you can see, in order to enjoy a pleasant stay in Japan, it is necessary for you to follow the rules at first and cherish your association with your neighbors.

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