The September 16th issue of Jinja Shinpō had a report of the general meeting of the Society to Correct the Relationship Between Politics and Religion, which was held on August 22nd. The central concern of this group is Yasukuni Jinja, but they also pay attention to other lawsuits that try to stop the contemporary state having anything to do with Shinto. There were, for example, a number of lawsuits over the Daijōsai ceremony held at the accession of the current Tennō.
However, it seems that the courts are generally happy that several important cases over the last several decades have settled the extent to which government bodies can interact with religious activities, and government bodies are sticking to those rules, so that the people bringing the cases consistently lose. (The only recent one that I am aware of in which they won was one in which the religion in question was not Shinto, where I suspect that the government body had not realised that the rules apply to all religions.)
This has, apparently, led to a change in tactics, and people are now bringing cases about the involvement of neighbourhood associations (jichikai and chōnaikai) in Shinto practice. None of the cases were described in detail, but it seems that they were based on freedom of religion and freedom of conscience. I think they are likely to lose these cases as well, although one in Kyoto about the Jidai Matsuri (associated with Heian Jingū) ended in a mediated settlement, but this is still an important point that I would like to write about.
These neighbourhood associations are, today, technically voluntary associations, and not part of the machinery of government. However, assuming I have understood correctly, they are the direct descendants of pre-war groups that were compulsory and the most local organ of government. It is possible to not join the association, but almost everyone in the area does, paying their few thousand yen. Legally, I would imagine that this ends the matter. Membership is voluntary, and the members get a say in what the organisation spends its money on — so if you don’t like what it is spending on, leave. Socially, however, these associations want to cover as many residents as possible, which would be my guess for why there was a mediated settlement. The people who brought the case would lose in court, but the association did not want the local conflict that a legal battle would stir up.
This is potentially very important for Jinja Shinto. At many jinja, because there is no resident priest, the maintenance of the jinja and preparation for matsuri falls on the sōdai. At a significant number of jinja (I have no statistics for this, however) the sōdai are the directors of the neighbourhood association, ex officio. This means that they change every year, and I have seen several references to problems that arise when a particular year’s sōdai have no interest in the jinja or matsuri. The funding for the matsuri also comes through the association in many cases, and people paying the membership fees do not necessarily realise. That is not to say that they would object if they did know, and it is not as if there is any effort made to keep it secret, but it is rather like Amazon renewing your Prime membership without warning you.
This basic structure, of local people supporting their jinja through a general levy and providing the people to lead ritual on a rota, goes back centuries, although the details have changed a lot over time. It has led to a structure in which the jinja and matsuri are just kept going as a matter of course. However, as society changes, this is becoming less stable. You get sōdai with no knowledge of or interest in Shinto, and people who do not see why they should support the jinja and matsuri. Some jinja are going to be just fine — they have local ujiko who can pick up the slack, or sūkeisha in other areas who provide support. There are others, however, that might have problems if support for the jinja and matsuri is no longer the local default option.
I very much doubt that there are general solutions to this problem available, but Jinja Honchō is aware of the general issue, and has programs to invigorate local jinja. The end result might well be even more diversity among jinja, as different places find different solutions.