Search

A list of 27 summer law programs abroad sponsored by American universities includes information on foreign program sponsors, location, language of instruction, dates, courses and credits available, openings, admission requirements and contact person, costs, and available living accommodations. (Journal availability: 1155 E. 60th St., Chicago, IL 60637, sc $1.00). (MSE)

In much of Western legal historical scholarship, legal fictions are understood to be devices for maintaining the integrity of text-based legal codes in the face of social change. However, while legal fictions as such were not a topic of scholarly inquiry in East Asia prior to the introduction of the concept from the West, East Asia is nevertheless rich in examples of another kind of legal fiction: jurisprudential legal fictions, or legal fictions effected by judges and rooted in culture (often including religion). The mythical, moral xiezhi beast in ancient China, and judge-centered moral reasoning in pre-modern Japan, point to legal fictions beyond the traditional categories of such in much of Western scholarship, as well as to legal fictions within the West now largely forgotten after the advent of Enlightenment thinking on textual law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the issues of international law involved in discharging of nuclear contaminated water from a nuclear accident into the sea, taking Japan as an example, and proposes a pathway for marine environmental cooperation as a reference for regional States and the international community. Specifically, this paper first examines the current situation of the discharge of contaminated water from the nuclear accident in Japan. Secondly, we explore the negative effect of discharging contaminated water from the nuclear accident into the sea, particularly its impact on the marine environment and marine industries. Thirdly, we analyze the dilemma faced by the current system of international law in regulating the discharge of contaminated water from the nuclear accident into the sea. Fourthly, we illustrate the potential responsibilities of the NACW discharging States. Finally, the article takes international cooperation as the principal means and proposes several detailed ways to establish and develop the regulation regarding the discharge of contaminated water from the nuclear accident into the sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents data relating to women in legal education in Japan. Part II gives a historical background that introduces Japan's pioneer women law scholars from the 1940s up to the late-1980s, noting what has been termed a "dark ages" period during which very few women entered the field between 1962 and the mid-1970s. Part III seeks to ascertain the current numerical count of women law professors in Japan, data which ought to be easily accessible and well-known, but in fact is neither. Part IV draws upon certain proxies in legal scholarship to assess the voice of women scholars in recent decades, acknowledging that while some progress has been made, there is still much room for improvement. Part V then offers comparative observations between women law professors in Japan and those in the United States. Finally, Part VI concludes with our hopeful contribution to the field of feminist legal theory more generally and provides a road map for future investigations into this important subject. By our observation, writings in this field, more often than not, simply presume the significance of feminist contributions in the legal academy. The point is--at the very least--an understated premise. However, the comparison with Japan, which is starkly different in its history from the 1960s onward, makes available a clarifying "what if" alternative scenario to consider this question. If there had not been feminist contributions in the U.S.' legal academy, or a mere fraction of what we have had, then we believe we would have greater lags for the progress of equality for women in U.S. society more generally. The comparison with Japan in this article adds credence to such a claim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We face a seriously ageing society. The population of the elderly with dementia is sharply increasing as adults live longer. We thus need effective public policy to protect the elderly with dementia. Nowadays, an adult protection legislative system is gradually progressing in Europe, Australia, Canada, and the US in order to protect vulnerable adults, including the elderly with dementia, from possible risks of abuse, including financial exploitation, neglect, and self-neglect. In Japan, the Cabinet decided on the Basic Plan for Promotion of the Adult Guardianship System in March 2017 as a public policy. It is, however, assumed that we need various public policy measures so that citizens may make their own choices determining whatever is suitable and necessary because autonomy and the right to self-determination are important universal values. In advanced states, an adult protection legislative system seemingly refers to a comprehensive package of laws aiming to protect vulnerable adults through the least restrictive measures deemed necessary, taking the will and preferences of vulnerable adults into consideration. In other words, human rights are highly respected. Of additional importance is the balance between state responsibility and citizen rights. An adult protection legislative system will be adopted in Japan in the future, and further study would be beneficial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until 2003, Japanese lawyers were prohibited by law from entering full-time employment in governmental bodies. That year, in line with recommendations by the Justice System Reform Council, the Lawyers Act was amended to permit lawyers to undertake such employment. Incorporating information and insights from interviews with former government lawyers and other concerned parties, this article examines the rise in the hiring of government lawyers and its impact. The article considers factors that have contributed to the increase, examines the roles played by these lawyers, considers prospects for the future, and discusses implications for government, the legal profession, clients, and legal education and training. The article also seeks to identify a range of issues raised by these developments that warrant further in-depth research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the law school system on Japan, and mentions issues surrounding the legal education; re-constricting of legal education system; and academic background of applicants in breach cases.

The Japanese judiciary on the whole has been passive and conservative, with a tendency to make uniform decisions. It has also long been criticized for its gender bias. While isolation from the general public enables Japanese judges to maintain their impartiality, it has also made their decisions more susceptible to being influenced by their personal values and biases. The process of bringing about order between private persons sometimes requires an aggressive attempt to develop legal doctrines, and in this respect, there may be room for a judiciary that is responsive to gender issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I will present the necessity of introducing gender training in continuing legal education, especially judicial education. Gender-related topics are rarely covered by professional legal education in Japan, and no systematic effort has been made to address gender in continuing education. In view of the current situation, I will explain the necessity of continuing legal education as well as the necessity of including gender training in judicial education by clarifying the principles of the judicial education systems implemented overseas and the values underlying these systems, while taking into account the role of the judiciary in the development of the law. I will show that these values and the use of support-based judicial education as a means of achieving them should be acceptable for the Japanese judiciary as well. At the same time, I will urge a shift in judicial philosophy from the current model of maintaining the judiciary's independence, which leaves it insular and homogenous, to a new model: a judiciary which is accessible and supported by the confidence of the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kawashima's well-known arguments on Japanese legal consciousness represent characteristic concerns of Japanese socio-legal scholarship: comparison between Japan and the West on the one hand, and law and practice on the other. Such concerns originated much earlier, before World War II. Suehiro, the early founder, relied on Ehrlich's idea of living law to make law fit social reality. In contrast, Kawashima urged Japanese people to make modern law ‘our living law’. He also argued that Japanese consciousness was the main cause of the small volume of litigation. This thesis became a focus of empirical research by Japanese and foreign scholars. Kawashima played a significant role in establishing the sociology of law as a subject in law. In subsequent empirical studies, Kawashima's thesis has been critically assessed. Yet the sociology of law as an empirical science and the characteristic concerns his work represents are distinctive features of the sociology of law in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on the comparative and historical evaluation of the reformed Japanese criminal jury system and explores the political and economic climate influencing the many Japanese judicial reforms. It mentions that key issues concerning courts, police conduct, prosecution, legal education, and the legal profession in Japan with initial skepticism and competing interests of courts, and defense attorneys. It also mentions the non-waiver of jury trial by the defense in Japan.

In this article, the author discusses the achievements and challenges regarding judicial reforms in Japan. He mentions that legal support center in Japan provides information on civil legal aids, public criminal defense, and crime victim assistance. He further discusses Japan's judicial situation in the 1970s and 1980s, the movement of bar associations and legal professionals for legal reforms, and also describes problems related to Japan's legal education system and training programs.

In the United States, the 2008 financial crisis had a serious impact on a legal profession that had been growing strongly for three decades, highlighting fundamental issues concerning the business and educational models of both law firms and law schools. This raises the interesting question of how Japan, with its much shorter history of large law firms and professional law schools, has been affected by the 2008 financial crisis and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear reactor crisis. At a recent conference sponsored by the University of Washington School of Law and the law firm of Perkins Coie, a distinguished group of legal practitioners from the leading Japanese and foreign law firms in Tokyo engaged in a panel discussion on the current state of Japan's legal profession. The panelists saw both the 2008 financial crisis and the Tōhoku earthquake as "one-time" events that will not have a significant longterm impact. The 2008 financial crisis, although it had a lesser economic impact in Japan, raised fundamental issues similar to those in the United States concerning the appropriate models for large law firms and law schools. Despite a number of current problems, the panelists supported the goals and direction of recent Japanese reforms, which have overhauled the system of legal education and increased the number of lawyers, and they explicitly embraced a new model for the legal profession: rather than the traditional small elite with a narrow societal role, the Japanese bar would be significantly expanded and compete to fill a wide range of law-related roles in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the Civil Code (Law of Obligations) of Japan with reference to the reform policy regarding the contract law. It discusses the proclamation of the drafts proposal by the reform commission and criticism by the lawyers regarding the comprehensive reform. Information on the legal scholarship and the relationship between the legal academic and the legal practice in Japan is also presented.

The article focuses on the application of the legal education of the U.S. in Japan and Korea. Legal education is reported to play a significant role in influencing legal systems, particularly Japan and Korea where their legal professionals are molded to take the challenges of domestic and international legal problems. Information on the law schools and education in the U.S. is provided where its colleges and universities do not offer undergraduate degrees in law. The struggles of Japan and Korea with their economy is presented where both countries decided to increase the number of their lawyers and implemented the U.S. legal education in their law schools to develop their governances.

The article presents analysis on human rights clinical program at Kanagawa Law School in Yokohama, Japan. It provides a critical review on the International Human Rights Clinic being offered at the school to promote students' awareness on social mobility. Moreover, it considers language as one of the problems encountered by the university in human rights promotion.

The article presents information on the incorporation of a Socratic legal educational approach into South Korea Confucian-based law school educational structure. It is reported that on July 27, 2007, South Korea passed the Graduate Law School Act (GLSA), which introduced a new legal educational system based on the U.S.-style three-year graduate law school program. Under the GLSA, to sit for the revised Korean bar examination to become a qualified lawyer, one should be a graduate from one of the new Korean graduate law schools, which opened in 2009. The article also presents information on Japan's legal education system, and compares it with that of South Korea.

Legal education in East Asia, particularly in China, Japan, and Korea, is undergoing fundamental changes, both institutionally and pedagogically. A common feature of those changes is the introduction of elements of the American system of legal education. Although traditional legal education in these countries has been provided at an undergraduate level and has not been considered professional legal education, recent and current reforms in those countries are either adding postgraduate professional law schools to existing undergraduate legal education or replacing undergraduate legal education with postgraduate professional law schools. The main parts of this review describe key features of those reforms in the three countries. The conclusion draws some theoretical implications from similarities and differences among the three countries, particularly in terms of the role of the top elite as agents of reform and of the constraints of different local conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay which describes the creation of "American style" courses at law schools outside the U.S. is presented. The author relates some of what he had learned about his legal education reform projects in Armenia, China, Georgia, Japan, Serbia and Thailand and about efforts to export American law and legal education. An overview of the projects is also provided.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to present the issues Japanese law libraries are facing after the judicial system reform which took place in 2001. By examining the effects of the reform, the author identifies the challenges faced by such libraries. Methods: Interviews were conducted at 17 law libraries to investigate the characteristics of the libraries' collections and management aspects such as budgets and personnel. Results: As an effect of the judicial system reform, law libraries in Japan can now be classified into four categories according to their patrons: 1) law libraries for scholars, 2) law libraries for lawyers, 3) law school libraries, and 4) law libraries for the public. The importance of law school libraries and law libraries for the public (law information services at public libraries) has been underlined due to revisions in legal education and the pending introduction of the citizen judge system. With the revised education system still in its early stages, law school libraries are looking to redefine their service framework. The library at the Legal Research and Training Institute at the Supreme Court of Japan may serve as a reference in this matter. Proactive efforts are being undertaken at public libraries in order to support citizens' involvement in the judicial process. However, taking into account the possibility of judicial information services developing into legal counseling, cooperation with legal experts should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to describe some problems of the new Japanese law school system. As a result of the conflict between the ideals and realities of law schools, many institutions are now facing crises in their existence. This conflict originates in the various tactics being employed to protect vested interests, for instance, in sustaining the existing Faculties of Law.Higher Education Policy (2007) 20, 195–206. doi:10.1057/palgrave.hep.8300150 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a comparative study of legal education in Japan. It discusses the old system of training Japanese lawyers and some of the forces that led to the breakdown of that system. It then details and analyzes the new system, much of which was borrowed from the U.S. after careful investigation. The shift to the American structure for law schools has been accompanied by an increased interest in American pedagogic techniques. The change in Japanese legal education was propelled by the perceived need to increase the number of people who pass the bar examination and become practicing lawyers. Moreover, it offers a few words about Japanese gangsters, the yakuza, because the story suggests similarities between lawyers and their illegal counterparts.

The article discusses the status of Japanese women in general as well as the new legal training system to foster a legal profession rich in both quality and quantity in Japan. The author presents data on women under the established legal training system as well as data under the new system. He then analyzes the factors that stunt the growth of women in the legal profession and in the academic world. Lastly, the author suggests measures to increase the number of women lawyers and gender-sensitive lawyers in the country.

The article discusses the relevance of teaching arbitration law in law schools in the U.S. and Japan, with special emphasis on dispute resolution. It is believed that a professor should combine many techniques to have an efficient learning of arbitration law. These strategies will help aid law students, that will later on become leaders, to resolve local or international disputes.

Explores significant aspects of the contemporary Japanese legal order, drawing on the particular interests of the ten Japanese legal scholars, who had studied, most of them during the period 1954-56, in the United States under the auspices of the Japanese-American Program for Cooperation in Legal Studies. Role of law in society; Legal procedure and personnel; Legal education; Judicial review; Criminal law; Family law; Labor relations; Corporation law.

Opinion. Focuses on legal education in Japan. Statistics on registered attorneys in 1994; How lawyers are admitted to practice; Background on the Hitotsubashi University; Advice for Australian students desirous of studying law in Japan.

The article explores the Tōdai Faculty of Law, which is taught by Minobe Tatsukichi, one of the foremost legal scholars in prewar Japan, and was virtually unquestioned until 1935 when right-wing politicians and publicists attack both the emperor-organ and Minobe. On the reason only a few critical voices arise from Tōdai, the author says it begun from the idea that Japan was in essence an emperor-centered divine state and that there is a need to reconstruct it. Miyazawa considered the issue of the emperor-organ theory as a his lifelong trauma, which he expressed in the final chapter of his two-volume "Emperor-Organ Theory Incident16."