Introduction to Yoshihiko Uchida

Yoshihiko Uchida was one of the leading social scientists and thinkers of post-war Japan. He was a leader of the civil society theory that was established in Japan in its own unique way, and he devoted himself to establishing freedom and democracy in Japan in a true sense. However, he is not necessarily well known to native English readers. Considering this, the first chapter serves as an introduction to the book as a whole, providing an overview of the ideas underlying his scholarship and his individual writings. In particular, I will ask him to talk as much as possible in his own words about the question of “living” that underlies Uchida’s thought (Sect. 1.1). This is followed by a brief overview of his major works (Sect. 1.2). Finally, a very brief biography of Uchida is presented (Sect. 1.3). At the root of Yoshihiko Uchida’s thought of civil society is the question of what it means for each person to “live” and to “live better.” The question of “living” inevitably leads to the question of “learning,” which in turn develops into the question of “participating,” “betting” and “communicating.” Uchida’s ultimate thoughts indicate that to form a good society, human beings need to “be good workers” and simultaneously “respect the absolute meaning of each person’s life itself,” regardless of whether they work or not. He says that the way to a free and democratic civil society is for each person to take on the conflict between the two, taking the latter position as the basis.