This book is a comprehensive account of the nativist movement in Japan today. Naoto Higuchi uses the life histories of activists to establish that the basis of their support for the movement is their conservativism rather than social or economic stress. He reveals the logic behind the emergence of the nativist movement by highlighting its links with developments in the existing right wing and Japan's conservative powers. A common interest in historical revisionism and conflict with neighbouring countries provides a further logic that underpins the nativist movement's particular focus on "special privileges" for permanent Koreans resident in Japan. The book examines the role of the internet in the recruitment of nativist activists and in lending a veil of historical "truth" to the falsehoods concerning these special privileges. Finally, Higuchi considers the issue of voting rights for foreign residents in the context of East Asian geopolitics and increasing securitization, and warns about the dangers of not resisting securitization.

Civil Society and the State in Democratic East Asia: Between Entanglement and Contention in Post High Growth focuses on the new and diversifying interactions between civil society and the state in contemporary East Asia by including cases of entanglement and contention in the three fully consolidated democracies in the area: Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. The contributions to this book argue that all three countries have reached a new era of post high growth and mature democracy, leading to new social anxieties and increasing normative diversity, which have direct repercussions on the relationship between the state and civil society. It introduces a comparative perspective in identifying and discussing similarities and differences in East Asia based on in-depth case studies in the fields of environmental issues, national identities as well as neoliberalism and social inclusion that go beyond the classic dichotomy of state vs 'liberal' civil society.