The first issue of the 2019 Journal of East Asian Studies has been released. The latest issue introduces a total of 6 research articles. Xingmiu Liao and Wen-Hsuan Tsai discuss the Chinese government’s social control tactics including its heightened management over national petitions. Andrew Garner et al. analyze the relationship between vote buying, poverty, education, and social pressure in Indonesia. Guangdong Xu, Wenming Xu and Binwei Gui address China’s social reform in environmental management through a stock market event study design. Fumi Ikeda examines the role of unions in mobilizing votes by studying Japanese company towns. Shin Haeng Lee and King-wa Fu discuss the relationship between internet usage and political participation in South Korea and Taiwan. Finally, Hojun Lee provides an overview of presidential politics and legislative procedural reform in the context of the Korean National Assembly. In addition to research articles, the issue offers 5 book reviews including that on From Miracle to Mirage: The Making and Unmaking of the Korean Middle Class, 1960-2015, which is an analysis on the processes that have led to both the rise and fall of the Korean middle class.