STRUGGLES WITH SOBRIETY: ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS MEMBERSHIP IN JAPAN

Abstract

Membership in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) in Japan results in societal disjunction, the divorcing of oneself from family, friends, co-workers, and others. AA meetings and meeting dialogues over the course of fieldwork highlight the social marginalization experienced by AA members of the Central Group in Tokyo. Members are thwarted by ideological frustrations with AA and an inability to consume alcohol that clashes with societal expectations and find expression in sobriety group meetings. They are caught between AA’s advocacy of a new and “joyous” life devoid of alcohol that rarely matches their daily experiences of being viewed as bearers of a shameful esoteric instead of a bested personal struggle.