Pacific Affairs Vol. 80, No. 3 FALL 2007 PAGE Civil Society and Interest Groups Yutaka Tsujinaka and in Contemporary Japan Robert Pekkanen 419 The Restructuring of Vietnamese Nationalism, 1954-2006 Hy V. Luong 439 Christian Evangelical Conversions and the Politics of Sri Lanka Bruce Matthews 455 What Has Happened to Urban Reform in the Island Pacific? Some Lessons Paul Jones and from Kiribati and Samoa John P. Lea 473 Correspondence 493 Book Reviews (listed on pp. 416-418) 495 Copyright © 2007, University of British Columbia ISSN 0030-851X Publications Mail Registration No. 07775 GST No. R108161779 PRINTED IN CANADA Recycled Paper 413 Papier Recyclé Pacific Affairs: Volume 80, No. 3 – Fall 2007 ABSTRACTS Civil Society and Interest Groups in Contemporary Japan Yutaka Tsujinaka and Robert Pekkanen This article probes the extent to which the new literature on civil society should lead to a revised understanding of Japan’s political economy and policymaking processes. We seek to place two literatures—the older work on political economy and the more recent writings on civil society—in perspective. The article presents a broad analysis of the influence of civil society groups, draw- ing evidence from the JIGS survey of interest groups, an extensive random sample survey of more than 1,600 associations in Tokyo and also in Ibaraki Prefecture, in- volving 36 questions and 260 subquestions. The analysis provides a general overview of the involvement of civil society groups in the policymaking process. We focus on three main aspects. First, we distinguish among the types of groups that involve themselves in policy making. These groups are broken down in the JIGS survey by their predominant activity (e.g., agricultural groups or sports groups) and their legal status. Second, we investigate in which areas groups seek to influence policy. This means both the broad issue area (e.g., agricul- ture) as well as the groups’ response to a specific list of policy changes over the past decade. Third, we probe the relationships these groups have with other groups as well as with other political actors (e.g., local governments, political parties). Also, we are concerned with the means by which the groups seek to influence policy mak- ing—and we include in this category specific information such as whether the groups offered electoral support or provided postretirement posts to bureaucrats. We find that Japanese associational structure is characterized by the pronounced strength of economic or business organizations compared to other groups. This is true when we look at the number of groups, the size or resources of the organiza- tions and the success that economic groups have in gaining access to policy makers. Our evidence reinforces the picture of high levels of communication and interac- tion between business organizations and the economic bureaucracy, and the relative exclusion of citizens’ groups. The Restructuring of Vietnamese Nationalism, 1954-2006 Hy V. Luong This paper examines the dynamics of the restructuring of Vietnamese discourses on culture and the nation at large over the past half a century, in relation to the process of ritual revitalization in Vietnam since the early 1970s. It is a process culminating in the Vietnamese socialist state’s official embrace of a broader range of past practices as part of Vietnam’s cultural legacy. This recognition extends to the official discourse on the nation, culture and development. The paper suggests that this shift is rooted at least as much in the dialogic relation between the Vietnamese socialist state and local populations, as in the stronger integration of Vietnam into the global capitalist system. The analysis is based partly on field data on ritual revitalization from two northern Vietnamese communities. 414 Christian Evangelical Conversions and the Politics in Sri Lanka Bruce Matthews The twin forces of religion and nationalism are well-known partners in world history. More often than not, the religion in question is adjusted to meet the political claims of adherents in a given situation. Buddhism is no less exposed to this than any other faith, despite its reputation as a religion of peacefulness and personal equilibrium. The case of Buddhism in Sri Lanka is an urgent example of this, as indicated by recent controversy surrounding the conversion of Buddhists to other faiths. Tradi- tionally, Christian evangelical activity has not been as problematic in Sri Lanka, but in the wake of the 26 December 2004 tsunami, which brought unrestricted Western and Korean-based Christian evangelical aid and mission outreach, the subject has suddenly become extremely vexed, the focus of parliamentary debate and proposed government policy. In June 2005, Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Buddhist Affairs brought forward the so-called “Freedom of Religion Act,” which dictates exacting terms that severely restrict conversion to Christianity. In view of the return to civil war condi- tions between the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in mid-2006, this anti-conversion bill and one other proposed by the monastic politi- cal party, the Jathika Helu Urumaya, have the potential to cause social and political distress if Parliamentary legislation is eventually introduced to curb the outreach of non-Buddhist faiths. What Has Happened to Urban Reform in the Island Pacific? Some Lessons from Kiribati and Samoa Paul Jones and John P. Lea The future for many Pacific island countries is an urban one. Despite a growing awareness of deteriorating physical, social and economic conditions in island capital cities over several decades, progress in reforming outdated urban administrations has been slow. Two recent examples of new approaches are found in the South Tarawa Urban Management Plan in Kiribati, located in Micronesia, and in the Planning and Urban Management Agency of Samoa, in Polynesia. Whilst neither is situated in Melanesia, the most problematic development region in Oceania, both are consid- ered relatively successful examples of urban reform in a small island state. The pa- per argues that a combination of political will, the ability to attract and absorb exter- nally sourced urban development assistance, and the prior achievement of some basic attributes, such as modest economic growth and gains in environmental man- agement and economic planning, are necessary pre-requisites for urban reform to occur. BOOKS REVIEWED IN THIS ISSUE Asia General INNOVATIVE COMMUNITIES: People-centred Approaches to Environmental Management in the Asia-Pacific Region. Edited by Jerry Velasquez, Makiko Yashiro, Susan Yoshimura, and Izumi Ono. Philip Hirsch 495 EMPIRE AND NEOLIBERALISM IN ASIA. Edited by Vedi R. Hadiz. Kuniko Ashizawa 496 415 Pacific Affairs: Volume 80, No. 3 – Fall 2007 CONTROLLING ARMS AND TERROR IN THE ASIA PACIFIC: After Bali and Baghdad. Edited by Marika Vicziany. Ilan Kelman 498 ASIAN CINEMAS: A Reader and Guide. Edited by Dimitris Eleftheriotis and Gary Needham. Nikki J. Y. Lee 499 China and Inner Asia CHINA’S RISE AND THE BALANCE OF INFLUENCE IN ASIA. Edited by William W. Keller and Thomas G. Rawski. Gaye Christoffersen 501 CHINESE CITIZENSHIP: Views from the Margins. Edited by Vanessa L. Fong and Rachel Murphy. Sophia Woodman 502 THE SEARCH FOR DELIBERATIVE DEMOCRACY IN CHINA. Edited by Ethan J. Leib and Baogang He. Teresa Wright 504 MAO’S LAST REVOLUTION. By Roderick Macfarquhar and Michael Schoenhals. Kimberley Ens Manning 506 THE CULTURE OF WAR IN CHINA: Empire and the Military Under the Qing Dynasty. By Joanna Waley-Cohen. Colin Green 508 PORTRAITS OF INFLUENTIAL CHINESE EDUCATORS. CERC Studies in Comparative Education, 17. By Ruth Hayhoe. Robert J. Culp 509 THE CHINESE AND OPIUM UNDER THE REPUBLIC: Worse than Floods and Wild Beasts. By Alan Baumler. David A. Bello 511 CINEMA TAIWAN: Politics, Popularity and State of the Arts. Edited by Darrell William Davis and Ru-shou Robert Chen. Helen Hok-Sze Leung 513 Northeast Asia LEVER OF EMPIRE: The International Gold Standard and the Crisis of Liberalism in Prewar Japan. By Mark Metzler. Penelope Francks 514 ONE WORLD OF WELFARE: Japan in Comparative Perspective. By Gregory J. Kasza. Mutsuko Takahashi 515 POWER AND PORK: A Japanese Political Life. By Aurelia George Mulgan. Brian Woodall 517 DEMOCRACY IN OCCUPIED JAPAN: The U.S. Occupation and Japanese Politics and Society. Edited by Mark E. Caprio and Yoneyuki Sugita. Ray A. Moore 518 A HISTORY OF NATIONALISM IN MODERN JAPAN: Placing the People. By Kevin M Doak. Michael A. Schneider 520 LINGUISTIC LANDSCAPES: A Comparative Study of Urban Multilingualism in Tokyo. By Peter Backhaus. Joseph F. Kess 521 MODERN JAPANESE CUISINE: Food, Power and National Identity. By Katarzyna J. Cwiertka. Michael Ashkenazi 523 CIVIL SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET IN JAPAN. Routledge Contemporary Japan Series, 13. By Isa Ducke. Mary Alice Haddad 524 SESSUE HAYAKAWA: Silent Cinema and Transnational Stardom. By Daisuke Miyao. Matthew Mizenko 525 416 REGIONAL COOPERATION AND ITS ENEMIES IN NORTHEAST ASIA: The Impact of Domestic Forces. Edited by Edward Friedman and Sung Chull Kim. Nobuhiro Hiwatari 527 BETWEEN ALLY AND PARTNER: Korea-China Relations and the United States. By Jae Ho Chung. Samuel S. Kim 528 RETHINKING HISTORICAL INJUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION IN NORTHEAST ASIA: The Korean Experience. Politics in Asia Series. Edited by Gi-Wook Shin, Soon-Won Park, and Daqing Yang Guy Podoler 530 NORTH KOREA: A Guide to Economic and Political Developments. By Ian Jeffries. Christopher Griffin 531 South Asia INDIA’S POLITICAL ECONOMY, 1947-2004: The Gradual Revolution. 2nd ed. By Francine R. Frankel. John C. Harriss 533 THE CRISIS OF SECULARISM IN INDIA. Edited by Anuradha Dingwaney Needham and Rajeswari Sunder Rajan. Rinku Lamba 534 REPORTING THE PARTITION OF PUNJAB 1947: Vazira Press, Public, and other Opinions. By Raghuvendra Fazila-Yacoombali Tanwar. Zamindar 536 UNTOUCHABLE CITIZENS: Dalit Movements and Democratisation in Tamil Nadu. Cultural Subordination and the Dalit Challenge Series, vol. 4. By Hugo Gorringe. Nathaniel Roberts 538 TREMORS OF VIOLENCE: Muslim Survivors of Ethnic Strife in Western India.