The Changing Role Of Law In Japan

How has Japan managed to become one of the most important economic actors in the world, without the corresponding legal infrastructure usually associated with complex economic activities? The Changing Role of Law in Japan offers a comparative perspecti

The Changing Role of Law in Japan offers a comparative perspective on the changing role of law in East Asia, discussing issues such as society, cultural values, access to the legal system and judicial reform. This innovative book places Japan in the wider context, juxtaposed with Europe, rather than the US, for the first time.

Since publication of the first edition, practitioners who deal with Japanese law have put great store in this major work, which systematically compares U.S. law and Japanese law across all the major fields of legal practice. Japan's legal system has changed dramatically since the publication of the Second Revised Edition as a consequence of Legislation and Supreme Court decisions in such diverse areas as public law (including administrative, election, constitutional and criminal law) as well as private law (including custody, assisted reproduction technology, labor law, discrimination, corporate governance, civil litigation, etc.). This new edition follows the same comparative structure as formerly, but fully updates the coverage with the many changes currently in place or in process in Japanese law today while adding new chapters on Freedom of Expression and Conflict of Laws. Author Carl Goodman--an internationally known authority with extensive experience in international practice, university teaching in both Japan and the U.S., and U.S. government service--takes expert stock of these new developments, including the following: the ongoing liberalization of corporation law; the changes in criminal law brought about as a consequence of the system of lay/professional judges; the codification and clarification of rules dealing with transnational jurisdiction; protection of corporate whistleblowers; an evaluation of the revamping of the education system for lawyers; the new law governing choice of law questions in international cases; the protections extended to the growing temporary work force; freedom of religion--shrines on public lands--and freedom of conscience--teachers and the National Anthem; modified criminal law procedural protections and new rules for judicial evaluation of circumstantial evidence cases; communitarianism and Japanese law; continuing growth in judicial review including constitutional and administrative cases; and family law--surrogacy, adoption, ART, international custody and the Hague Convention, Gender Identity disorder, brain death, organ transplantation etc. Although the alteration of the legal landscape in Japan is highly visible, the author does not hesitate to raise questions as to how far-reaching the changes really are. In almost every branch of the new Japanese legal practice he uncovers ways in which laws and judicial rulings are closely qualified and are likely to present challenges in any given case. He reminds the reader in each chapter that 'what you see may not be what you get.' For this reason, and for its comprehensive coverage, this third edition is sure to gain new adherents as the best-informed practical guide for lawyers with dealings in Japan.

Takao Tanase seamlessly combines sociolegal and philosophical analysis as he explores the tensions between individual legal rights and communitarian values in settings ranging from post-divorce visitation rights to tort liability, lawyer client relationships, and rising litigation rates. Contrasting Japan with the individualistic thrust of American law, Tanase stresses the importance of building legal processes that encourage stronger social and communal bonds. Students of law and society on all continents will find rich food for thought in this intellectually bold and intriguing volume. Robert A. Kagan, University of California, Berkeley, US Takao Tanase s Community and the Law is a path breaking and often surprising interpretation of legal culture in Japan which includes subtle analyses of the changing role of lawyers and courts and the extent to which modernity and reliance on law are interlinked. But it is much more than that. His reflections on the different way law responds to social dilemmas in Japan and the USA are the building blocks of a much more ambitious project no less than constructing a coherent account of what law can and should do to maintain communal ties in postmodern times. The book is a pleasure to read for its learning and sophistication. Nottage and Wolff also deserve high praise for their light touch as editors and translators. David Nelken, University of Cardiff, UK and University of Macerata, Italy This important book translates seven landmark essays by one of Japan s most respected and influential legal thinkers. While Takao Tanase concedes that law might not matter as much in Japan as it does in the United States, in a provocative challenge to socio-legal researchers and comparative lawyers, he asks: why should it? The issue, he contends, is not whether law matters to society; it is how society matters to law. Developing a descriptive and normative theory of community and the law, the author directly challenges the view that legal liberalism represents the pinnacle of legal achievement. He criticises liberalism for destroying community in the United States and for offering false hope for a delayed modernity in Japan. By applying a distinctive interpretivist methodology, he constructs a communitarian model of law and society that serves as an alternative to legal liberalism. The book challenges conventional understandings of such legal sociological staples as torts, lawyers ethics, family law, human rights, constitutionalism and litigiousness. This fascinating book will prove a stimulating, thought provoking read for researchers and scholars of law, Japanese and American studies, sociology and jurisprudence.

This volume explores major developments in Japanese law over the latter half of the twentieth century and looks ahead to the future. Modeled on the classic work Law in Japan: The Legal Order in a Changing Society (1963), edited by Arthur Taylor von Mehren, it features the work of thirty-five leading legal experts on most of the major fields of Japanese law, with special attention to the increasingly important areas of environmental law, health law, intellectual property, and insolvency. The contributors adopt a variety of theoretical approaches, including legal, economic, historical, and socio-legal. As Law and Japan: A Turning Point is the only volume to take inventory of the key areas of Japanese law and their development since the 1960s, it will be an important reference tool and starting point for research on the Japanese legal system. Topics addressed include the legal system (with chapters on legal history, the legal profession, the judiciary, the legislative and political process, and legal education); the individual and the state (with chapters on constitutional law, administrative law, criminal justice, environmental law, and health law); and the economy (with chapters on corporate law, contracts, labor and employment law, antimonopoly law, intellectual property, taxation, and insolvency). Japanese law is in the midst of a watershed period. This book captures the major trends by presenting views on important changes in the field and identifying catalysts for change in the twenty-first century.

Meryll Dean's superb new edition of Japanese Legal System provides a wide-ranging and unique insight into the legal system of a country which is at the forefront of global development, yet rarely examined by legal scholars. It is a major contribution to the study of comparative law and through its multidisciplinary approach breaks new ground in providing a comprehensive text on the subject. It draws on the author's first hand knowledge of Japan, but is written for non-Japanese speakers.; Through its approachable yet scholarly style, the reader is introduced to the essentials of the legal system, and guided through historical and cultural context; from which they will be able to develop an informed critique.; The book covers the history, structure and tradition of the Japanese legal system, as well as providing an insight into areas of substantive law. It contains extracts from diverse contemporary sources which, together with the author's commentary, guide the reader through the complexities of a different culture.The use of multidisciplinary sources, which are contextualised by the author, make what would otherwise be inaccessible material available for comparative analysis.; This book may be used as a textbook for undergraduate and postgraduate courses. It will be useful for those engaged in the study of history, politics, international relations and law, as well as being of value to academics, practitioners and those in business

This book discusses various Japanese legal topics in comparison to the United States approach to these same topics and analyzes whether what you see as the written law in Japan is what you get in reality. The foundation for the present Japanese legal system is explored, as is the structure, makeup, and independence of the Japanese judiciary and legal professions. The application of the Japanese Constitution to activities of and limitations on powers of the Japanese government are analyzed, as are the scope and limitations of the Japanese constitutional guarantees of religious freedom, sexual equality, equal rights, and rights of the criminally accused. The special Renunciation of War clause of the Japanese Constitution and court decisions dealing with the clause are analyzed to discover how the clause has gone from prohibiting all military establishments to permitting a world class military. Substantive legal areas, including contracts, treaties, and corporate law, are discussed. The Japanese civil litigation system, the perceived shortcoming in that system and currently ongoing steps at judicial reform are analyzed. Similarly, the attempt of the American Occupation to significantly change the administrative law of Japan by incorporating American legal concepts in Japanese administrative law is compared to the actual legal state of affairs in Japan. The text discusses the concepts underlying the reasons for the difference between the written law in Japan and the actual working of the Japanese legal system and considers how the ongoing process of judicial reform in Japan, which has as its stated goal the advancement of the Rule of Law, may affect changes in the legal system as Japan moves its legal system into the 21st Century.