Defining the nonprofit sectors in Japan and England & Wales: A comparative assessment of common versus civil law

This paper provides a comparative assessment of the legal frameworks for non-profit organisations (NPOs) in England and Japan, offering fresh insights into the differences in legislative support for NPO development in both countries. Following a review of NPO legal developments in England and Japan, we outline the major contemporary issues affecting NPOs and focus on the key challenges of: legislative reform, systems of regulation, accountability and third/public sector partnerships. The paper contributes to knowledge by exploring the potential of comparative assessments of NPO legislation, and highlights the disparities in support for NPOs that are culturally-bound. Also, we contribute to contemporary debate on the ability for NPOs to manage amidst a global climate of change and the possible return to the so-called ‘age of austerity’. Highlighting the differential roles of legal frameworks between cultural contexts shows academics, practitioners and policy makers, the global context of national challenges for NPOs.nonprofit organizations, legal context, partnership, comparative assessment