The purpose of this study is to identify the characteristics of empirical research on civic engagement in Japanese schools and to draw implications for future research. A quantitative examination of previous empirical studies reveals that the range of independent variables related to the promotion or discouragement of civic engagement and the methods of examining the relationships between variables differ depending on the research area: (1) micro-level variables and statistical analysis in political science, (2) micro/macro variables and statistical analysis in pedagogy, (3) macro-level variables and non-statistical analysis in pedagogy. The analysis of typical cases of these three research patterns shows that they have different characteristics in terms of the purpose of the research and the research design accordingly. It also shows that the variables and research objects focused on diff er according to the discipline, suggesting the need to encourage collaboration between different disciplines, particularly between political science and education, in order to promote more comprehensive research on youth civic engagement.