The social disengagement theory suggests that older people often do not wish to maintain the same level of immersion in social relations as they did in their earlier years. Following this theory, then, social gerontologists suggest that voluntary mutual withdrawal takes place between the elderly and the rest of society. The present paper uses data from a national sample of Japanese Americans, along with a series of indicators of first-generation Japanese American's social participation (visiting patterns with friends and relatives, interest in political affairs, and membership in voluntary associations) to determine if there is a differential level of social participation by age or sex. The findings of this study suggest that the most common patterns which occur indicate that age is inversely related to social participation. With respect to interest in political affairs and organizational affiliation, the same pattern is true, with women reporting less interest than men. Thus, some support for the social disengagement theory is found. (Author/RLV)