This paper explores a change in a mode of governing in Japan during the administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (2001-2006) through an examination of what I call the story of blue pee. The story circulated among people engaged in implementing child welfare policies at the local level, and implied that mothers today were ignorant in the ways of raising children. Situating the story within the context of the Koizumi administration's reforms, this study suggests that the manner in which people discussed the story of blue pee signaled the deployment of a type of neoliberal governmentality. The notion of ignorance was employed not to educate and normalize "ignorant mothers", but to motivate Japanese to help these mothers raise children. Ultimately, helping mothers was touted as a method of creating community by fostering acts of self-management and self-reliance. (Contains 14 notes.)