The Right To Life In Japan

The Right to Life in Japan is a study that brings new perspectives to bear on an extremely important topic for all those facing the moral dilemmas of such issues as abortion and the death penalty. It also helps to fill a gap in life, in social science and law studies of contemporary Japan. Noel Williams approaches the right to life in Japan from a legal viewpoint via a broad range of issues such as abortion, suicide, capital punishment and death from overwork. Following a discussion of law and rights in Japan from an historical perspective, the author examines the question of what life is in contemporary Japan and focuses on problematic areas which have arisen in life issues, including infringements of the right to life within the modern company organization, and by the state, as well as the question of the equality of the right to life.

This edited volume approaches the life experiences and well-being of Japanese people from an empirical perspective. It explores the current trend of happiness among Japanese over time and examines the association of income, lifestyle, and perceived life conditions using modern econometric models with supplementary qualitative observations. Issues relating to ageing, gender, household division of labour, and emigration are also examined to provide a wide scope of results based on both survey and field methods for culturally sensitive researchers. Going beyond the conventional cultural interpretation of the uniqueness of the Japanese case, this book provides timely, empirical evidence for understanding how the various social groups comprising the Japanese population have enjoyed a better quality of life, while some groups are very dissatisfied with social arrangements and have elected to emigrate. The book is a pioneering endeavour to reveal the detailed structure of quality of life and well-being in Japanese society.

Contemporary Japan is in a state of transition, caused by the forces of globalization that are derailing its ailing economy, stalemating the political establishment and generating alternative lifestyles and possibilities of the self. Amongst this nascent change, Japanese society is confronted with new challenges to answer the fundamental question of how to live a good life of meaning, purpose and value. This book, based on extensive fieldwork and original research, considers how specific groups of Japanese people view and strive for the pursuit of happiness. It examines the importance of relationships, family, identity, community and self-fulfilment, amongst other factors. The book demonstrates how the act of balancing social norms and agency is at the root of the growing diversity of experiencing happiness in Japan today.

The right to life is a core human right which has not yet received the detailed legal analysis that it requires. This book provides detailed, critical analysis of the controversial human right to life and, in particular, assesses the weight of conflicting interests which could and/or should serve to override the right. This contemporary study of the right to life focuses on the legal, as well as ethical, issues raised by the value of life in modern day society. It seeks to analyse the development, meaning and value of the fundamental human right to life in the context of its conflicts with other competing interests. The book begins with an overview of the right to life in which the concept of life itself is first analysed, before both the right and its legal protection and enforcement are subjected to historical, philosophical and comparative analysis. The remainder of the book identifies, and assesses the merits of, various competing interests. These comprise armed conflict; prevention of crime; rights of others; autonomy; quality of life; and finite resources. The right to life is unusual in having potential application to so many of today's ethically controversial questions. This new work investigates specific topics of current political, legal and ethical concern such as the right to life during international conflicts, the role of lethal force in law enforcement, the death penalty, the right to life of a foetus in the context of legalised abortion, and the significance of quality of life and autonomy issues in respect of euthanasia and assisted suicide.

A comprehensive analysis into the background of legal responses to, and wider implications of, hate speech in Japan.

Japan's so-called 'peace constitution' renounces war as a sovereign right of the nation, and bans the nation from possessing any war potential. Yet Japan also maintains a large, world-class military organization, namely the Self-Defence Forces (SDF). In this book, Tomoyuki Sasaki explores how the SDF enlisted popular support from civil society and how civil society responded to the growth of the SDF. Japan's Postwar Military and Civil Society details the interactions between the SDF and civil society over four decades, from the launch of rearmament in 1950. These interactions include recruitment, civil engineering, disaster relief, anti-SDF litigation, state financial support for communities with bases, and a fear-mongering campaign against the Soviet Union. By examining these wide-range issues, the book demonstrates how the militarization of society advanced as the SDF consolidated its ideological and socio-economic ties with civil society and its role as a defender of popular welfare. While postwar Japan is often depicted as a peaceful society, this book challenges such a view, and illuminates the prominent presence of the military in people's everyday lives.

Why would a country strongly influenced by Buddhism's reverence for life allow legalized, widely used abortion? Equally puzzling to many Westerners is the Japanese practice of mizuko rites, in which the parents of aborted fetuses pray for the well-being of these rejected "lives." In this provocative investigation, William LaFleur examines abortion as a window on the culture and ethics of Japan. At the same time he contributes to the Western debate on abortion, exploring how the Japanese resolve their conflicting emotions privately and avoid the pro-life/pro-choice politics that sharply divide Americans on the issue.

In Nuclear Power and Human Rights in Japan: The Fallout of Fukushima, Emrah Akyüz advances an environmental human rights approach to environmental protections regarding nuclear power. Using the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster as a case study, Akyüz argues for three main approaches to environmental protection, including the right to environment, the reinterpretation of human rights, and the role of procedural rights.