The Sakhalin Village of Mizuho: Collective Memory and the Role of Non-state Actors in Local Governmental Policymaking Processes

Today, non-state actors have an increasingly greater effect on policy, such as activist groups and individuals online; however, the relationship between non-state actors and policymakers is often understood as a producer-client relationship, with non-state actors framed as reacting, and therefore mainly passively consuming, the decisions of the policymaker. In particular, there is a lack of understanding of how non-state actors as subjects participate in the policymaking process, especially in non-Western countries. I aim to correct this knowledge gap by framing the non-state actor as an active policymaking agent, and through this, understand how non-state actors interact with and influence the policymaking process. My research analyzes how memory is preserved and utilized by non-state and state actors via a case study in Southern Sakhalin (Mizuho Village), where I conduct qualitative analysis of governmental and non-governmental resources in Russian, Japanese, and English. I find that community memory is created through trust and constant individual interactions, which is used by grassroots movements as a community rallying tool. Furthermore, these non-state actors operate outside of local governmental policy making; their greatest policymaking influence is on local governmental policy via absorption at a later date.