Does process matter more for predicting trust in government? Participation, performance, and process, in local government in Japan

Goldfinch, Shaun; Yamamoto, Kiyoshi; Aoyagi, Saizo

doi:10.1177/00208523221099395

Cited by 16 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Trust in government in Japan was alarmingly low, with strong agreement or “agreement that government are generally trustworthy” at 1.60% (20/1248) and 35.74% (446/1248), respectively—far lower than that of other OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries [ 2 ]. This finding of low trust in government in Japan is supported by other studies [ 3 ]. Confidence in public health scientists was far greater: 42.15% (526/1248) of respondents had “a great deal” of confidence and 48.32% (603/1248) were “fairly” confident that they work in the public interest.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 84%

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Factors Influencing the Adoption of Voluntary Nonpharmaceutical Interventions to Control COVID-19 in Japan: Cross-sectional Study

Kuroki¹,

Yamamoto²,

Goldfinch³

2022

JMIR Form Res

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Background Trust in government is seen to facilitate crisis management and policy instrument adoption across numerous studies. However, in Japan, public support for government handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and trust in the government is low, yet the adoption of voluntary nondigital nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) is high. This is an important tension this study seeks to unravel. Objective The aim of this study is to understand the antecedents of nondigital NPI and tracking app adoption in the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. Methods A commercial company was contracted to deliver an online survey of 1248 Japanese citizens in December 2020. A quota technique was used to deliver a sample representative in terms of gender, age, residence, income, and education. Results The adoption of voluntary nondigital NPIs is predicted by confidence in public health scientists and a favoring of infection control over reducing economic and social costs. A novel and unexpected finding is that trust in government does not predict nondigital NPI use. Perceived risk and knowledge of infection did not increase the use of nondigital NPIs. Education and income were not significant factors, although female and older respondents demonstrated greater compliance. For the adoption of a phone tracking app, trust in government is important, as is urban residence, albeit with a lower use of the app compared to nondigital NPIs. Conclusions Voluntary compliance in the adoption of nondigital NPIs—if skillfully led by trusted scientific experts and in accord with societal norms—can be effectively achieved. We provide evidence that trust in government is effective in encouraging the use of the Japanese tracking app. Moreover, the technical efficacy of digital initiatives and perceptions of such will unsurprisingly affect citizen support and use of digital tools.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 84%

“…Moreover, trust in government initially increased in several countries, partly due to perceptions of effective pandemic management [ 2 ]. Trust in government remains low in Japan, however [ 3 ]. Moreover, despite the relatively low death toll, surveys show low levels of support for the Japanese government’s handling of the pandemic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Influencing the Adoption of Voluntary Nonpharmaceutical Interventions to Control COVID-19 in Japan: Cross-sectional Study

Kuroki¹,

Yamamoto²,

Goldfinch³

2022

JMIR Form Res

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“…Trust refers to an individual’s belief and expectation regarding the possibility of a particular action being performed by a trustee (Makorere, 2012). Trust in local government remains a top priority for policymakers, as it is directly linked to the successful adoption of policies (Goldfinch et al , 2022). Indeed, local governments are viewed as wise public representatives who care about how their actions affect individuals and society (Beshi and Kaur, 2020; Mansoor, 2021; Naraidoo and Sobhee, 2021).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Residents’ trust in local government councils in an emerging nation: effect of political efficacy, good governance and performance

Rahman

Suki

Yusof

et al. 2022

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Purpose This study aims to explore residents’ trust in local government councils and to examine the effect of political efficacy and good governance on that trust and on the performance of local government councils in an emerging nation. Design/methodology/approach Data were analysed using qualitative and quantitative research designs. Firstly, a thematic analysis was performed to explore residents’ trust in local government councils and compare it with the data gathered in the literature review. Thereafter, a partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach was used to investigate the hypothesised linkages. Findings The thematic analysis of the face-to-face semi-structured interviews discovered four themes (trust, performance, political efficacy and good governance). Additional analysis of these themes via the PLS-SEM approach revealed good governance to be the most influential factor in promoting residents’ trust in local government councils. Political efficacy was the second most influential factor. Residents expect local government councils’ officers to demonstrate a strong commitment to the rule of law and comply with all relevant laws and regulations. Practical implications Local government councils should openly accept residents’ requests and suggestions, be more flexible in policy delivery and be responsive to policy demands given the relatively small constituencies and greater policy latitudes. Multiple avenues should be available for interaction between residents and local government councils in the mission to achieve sustainable urban growth. Originality/value This study is unique in that it advances existing research that is lacking in the context of the Malaysian local government council. The result alerts are crucial in that they alert local government councils to the need for high levels of governance and accountability in terms of resident support to gain more trust and confidence.

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“…When individuals have confidence in the government, justice system or banks, they feel that their rights are strongly protected, which ultimately increases their life satisfaction ( Ciziceno and Travaglino, 2019 ). Goldfinch et al (2022) analysed data from a survey of 3100 Japanese citizens and found that trust in local government was related to citizen satisfaction.…”

Section: Theory and Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Citizens’ evaluation of the current political system, especially the level of trust or support, is key to the strength of the relationship ( Zhang and Ip, 2019 ). Institutional trust is an important aspect of the relationship between citizens and institutions, and most previous studies have explored the role of institutional trust in advanced industrialized western countries ( Goldfinch et al, 2022 ; Hudson, 2006 ). In contrast to advanced industrialized western countries, the progression of institutional trust in post-communist countries is a distinct circumstance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public trust in the Chinese government and life satisfaction during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic

Cai

2023

International Review of Administrative Sciences

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It is important to understand the public’s trust in the government’s ability to handle crisis events. Based on China Family Panel Studies data in 2018 and 2020, this paper explores the interaction between government trust and life satisfaction during the pandemic. It is found that with the increase in public trust in government officials, individual life satisfaction has been significantly improved. The main mechanism is that government trust enhances people’s confidence in the future and promotes the government’s investment in the livelihood fields. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, individual life satisfaction suffered a negative impact. Individuals with high trust in the government before the pandemic had a small decrease in life satisfaction. At the same time, when faced with the pandemic, individuals were more willing to trust the government due to the desire to overcome common threats, which will alleviate the negative impact of the pandemic on individual life satisfaction. The research reported in this paper helps to explain the role of government in the crisis period from the perspective of public trust and provides useful information for the government to formulate and adjust policies to mitigate the impact of the crisis events. Points for practitioners In China, trust in local governments is related to public satisfaction. People are more willing to increase trust in the government to overcome a common crisis, thus reducing the negative impact of the crisis on individual life satisfaction. Perhaps more important is to promote the public service motivation of government officials through government trust. Providing public services, increasing accountability and transparency in society, and increasing citizen engagement are all effective ways to foster institutional trust.

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Does process matter more for predicting trust in government? Participation, performance, and process, in local government in Japan

Cited by 16 publications

References 49 publications

Factors Influencing the Adoption of Voluntary Nonpharmaceutical Interventions to Control COVID-19 in Japan: Cross-sectional Study

Factors Influencing the Adoption of Voluntary Nonpharmaceutical Interventions to Control COVID-19 in Japan: Cross-sectional Study

Residents’ trust in local government councils in an emerging nation: effect of political efficacy, good governance and performance

Public trust in the Chinese government and life satisfaction during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic

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