Japanese Aid in Comparative Perspective

Nicholson, Pip; Hinderling, Samantha

doi:10.1017/s1876404512001157

“…10 This observation is still salient, considering that Vietnam and Laos are formally socialist singleparty states, and Cambodia is a de-facto single-party state. 11 As Nicholson and Hinderling (2013) succinctly put it, rule-of-law promotion itself has been the subject of diverse critiques, including: "its ethnocentricity; whether it sufficiently admits context; whether it admits and works with the plurality of legal systems; its colonial roots; its portability and whether it has a positive impact on either economic growth or delivery of democratisation/ human rights" (275). Presumably these criticisms, and other geopolitical and historical considerations such as Japan's own wartime and colonial history, made Japan hesitant to prioritise rule-of-law promotion or even use the term 'rule of law' in the early years of the legal technical assistance projects (Kuong 2018, 274-76).…”

Section: Extending Japan's Reach Through Legal Technical Assistancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Japan's 2003 ODA Charter, for example, included no mention of 'rule of law', although it features prominently in the 2015 version of the Charter. 12 While experts agree that Japan has progressively engaged in the debate about the place of rule-of-law promotion in aid projects (Taylor 2005;Kuong 2018;Nicholson and Hinderling 2013;Nicholson and Low 2013;Nicholson and Kuong 2014), it is an imprecise instrument for judging the ultimate value of Japan's legal technical assistance projects. 13 To date, a significant number of codes and laws have been established or reformed in host countries through the legal technical assistance projects, with support from JICA and other government bodies.…”

Section: Extending Japan's Reach Through Legal Technical Assistancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Certainly, law and development scholars have researched the legal technical assistance projects delivered along the Mekong River, focusing on the projects' methodological and theoretical aspects (see Section 2 above). These include a comparison of Japan's projects with the agendas of other donors (Taylor 2005;Nicholson and Hinderling 2013;Nicholson and Kuong 2014); local experiences of court-oriented law reform guided by JICA and other international donors (Nicholson and Low 2013); project implementation in host countries (Kaneko 2010;Kuong 2018;Kaneko 2019); and Japan's evolving experience as a rule-oflaw donor (Taylor 2012). However, what these otherwise valuable contributions do not do is to delineate the contour of Japanese legal influence in a way that is useful for international businesses and lawyers needing to understand the positive law of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos (see Section 1).…”

Section: (Re-)assessing the Influence Of Japanese Law In Vietnam Cambodia And Laosmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Japan as a Source of Legal Ideas: A View from the Mekong Subregion of ASEAN

Teramura¹

2021

NVJS

1

0

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Much has been written about Japanese law within the context of Japan. Less is known about the application of Japanese legal models outside Japan. A prevailing view among some commentators is that Japanese law scholarship does not offer insights that are useful beyond Japan-based legal studies. Other scholars challenge this perception by invoking Japan’s legal development aid projects in the Mekong subregion of ASEAN—especially in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. These projects have been in operation for over twenty years and aim to foster the economic growth of host countries. This article aligns with the view that Japanese law exists beyond, and is influential outside, Japan. It calls for further action by legal specialists to re-examine and re-assess the corresponding influence of Japanese positive law in these countries, both in improving the transparency of those legal systems and enhancing communication among local, comparative and Japanese law experts.

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“…For example, the Japanese have a long history of engagement with Myanmar, including the provision of various forms of fi nancial assistance through JICA (Steinberg 2001 : 253-258;Seekins 1992 ). Th e Japanese operate outside the Western law and development paradigm (Nicholson and Hinderling 2013 ;Taylor 2005 ). As the primary shareholder in the ADB, and the second largest shareholder in the World Bank aft er the United States, Japan has a signifi cant infl uence through the programmes of these multilateral banks.…”

Section: Foreign Aid Investment and Expertisementioning

confidence: 99%

The Business of Transition: Law Reform, Development and Economics in Myanmar

Crouch¹,

Harding²

2019

CSEA

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A joke was going around about the impact of development in the country since Myanmar began its controlled transition to a quasi-civilian government in 2011. Th e word for 'to develop' , 'to progress' or 'to improve' in Burmese is 'တု ိ ္ းတက'္ . Th is is made up of two words, which mean, respectively, 'to push, to advance or to go forward' and 'to climb up, to advance or to get on' . Th e joke would begin with one person commenting, 'Th e country is really developing . ' To which another person would reply, 'Yes, now you have to push to get on the bus. ' Th e play on the double-meaning of the word 'to develop' and 'to push' here is a telling sign of the illusive promise of development. Th e joke is a reference to the fact that the only thing that has changed for many people in Yangon is that the public buses are more crowded. Th is is not to mention that the traffi c on the roads is oft en at a standstill because of the dramatic increase in car imports.Th is book is oriented around the theme of the 'business of transition' . It is concerned with how to understand the 'business' that takes place in times of major political change. Th ere has been growing recognition of the commercial stakes and business activities of the rule-of-law industry (Marshall 2014: xiv). Th is book identifi es the way in which law creates new markets, law embodies hopes of social engineering and law reform is motivated by the goal of economic gain. Th is book is an invitation to think carefully and critically about the intersection between law, development and economics in times of political transition. Th is theme is one that has caused considerable angst and soul-searching in academia and public policy and amongst legal practitioners. It is hoped that by focusing on one specifi c context -Myanmar -as the latest site for law and development and rule-of-law reforms fresh insights can be gained. Th e importance of Myanmar cannot be underestimated, given its strategic location between China and India and the perception that it is the newest

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Foreword by Martin Krygier

Crouch¹

The Business of Transition

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A joke was going around about the impact of development in the country since Myanmar began its controlled transition to a quasi-civilian government in 2011. Th e word for 'to develop' , 'to progress' or 'to improve' in Burmese is 'တု ိ ္ းတက'္ . Th is is made up of two words, which mean, respectively, 'to push, to advance or to go forward' and 'to climb up, to advance or to get on' . Th e joke would begin with one person commenting, 'Th e country is really developing . ' To which another person would reply, 'Yes, now you have to push to get on the bus. ' Th e play on the double-meaning of the word 'to develop' and 'to push' here is a telling sign of the illusive promise of development. Th e joke is a reference to the fact that the only thing that has changed for many people in Yangon is that the public buses are more crowded. Th is is not to mention that the traffi c on the roads is oft en at a standstill because of the dramatic increase in car imports.Th is book is oriented around the theme of the 'business of transition' . It is concerned with how to understand the 'business' that takes place in times of major political change. Th ere has been growing recognition of the commercial stakes and business activities of the rule-of-law industry (Marshall 2014: xiv). Th is book identifi es the way in which law creates new markets, law embodies hopes of social engineering and law reform is motivated by the goal of economic gain. Th is book is an invitation to think carefully and critically about the intersection between law, development and economics in times of political transition. Th is theme is one that has caused considerable angst and soul-searching in academia and public policy and amongst legal practitioners. It is hoped that by focusing on one specifi c context -Myanmar -as the latest site for law and development and rule-of-law reforms fresh insights can be gained. Th e importance of Myanmar cannot be underestimated, given its strategic location between China and India and the perception that it is the newest terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms.

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Japanese Aid in Comparative Perspective

Cited by 6 publications

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Japan as a Source of Legal Ideas: A View from the Mekong Subregion of ASEAN

Japan as a Source of Legal Ideas: A View from the Mekong Subregion of ASEAN

The Business of Transition: Law Reform, Development and Economics in Myanmar

Foreword by Martin Krygier

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