Examinations of Urban Alienations in Japan

トシ　ハ　ヒトビト　ノ　パーソナリティ　ニ　アクエイキョウ　ヲ　モタラスノカ　ニホン　ニオケル　トシ　ソガイ　リロン　ノ　ケントウ

アカエダ, ナオキ

Akaeda, Naoki

オオサカ ダイガク ダイガクイン ニンゲン カガク ケンキュウカ シャカイガク ニンゲンガク ジンルイガク ケンキュウシツ

Sociology, Anthropology and Philosophy, Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University

無力性

無規範性

社会的孤立

マルチレベル分析

urban alienation theory

powerlessness

normlessness

social isolation

multilevel analysis

The aim of this paper is to examine urban effects on urban alienations in Japan. It is often said that urban life is socially and mentally unhealthy. Similarly, urban sociologists argued about urban alienation theory derived from G. Simmel, R.E. Park and L. Wirth. This theory insists that urbanism gives us urban alienations which include powerlessness, normlessness and social isolation. Urban alienation theory has long been a major focus of research in urban sociology, but only few attempts have so far been made at studying about urban alienations in Japan. Therefore, this research examined urban effects on urban alienations through the analysis of the Japan Survey on Information Society (JIS) 2001. We used multilevel model to analyze individual-level data, which have been linked with aggregate-level data. By analysis of multilevel model, I obtained three ndings. (1) When the individual attributes of residents such as socio-economic status are controlled, there are not signi cant variances of normlessness and social isolation between places of residence. (2) There are signi cant variances of powerlessness between places of residence, independent of the individual attributes of residents. (3) The percentage of population in DID (Densely Inhabited District) did not have signi cant effects on powerlessness. The results from this study did not associate urbanism with powerlessness, normlessness and social isolation. Moreover, they suggest that urban alienation theory is not supported in Japan.