The Spirit of Japanese Law focuses on the century following the Meiji Constitution, Japan's initial reception of continental European law. As John Owen Haley traces the features of contemporary Japanese law and its principal actors, distinctive patterns emerge. Of these none is more ubiquitous than what he refers to as the law's "communitarian orientation." While most westerners may view judges as Japanese law's least significant actors, Haley argues that they have the last word because their interpretations of constitution and codes define the authority and powers they and others hold. Based on a "sense of society," the judiciary confirms bonds of village, family, and firm, and "abuse of rights" and "good faith" similarly affirms community. The Spirit of Japanese Law concludes with constitutional cases that help explain the endurance of community in contemporary Japan.

This book presents the only English language, up-to-date, and comprehensive reference to Japanese law. It covers a wide range of topics, from the fundamentals of the Japanese legal system, to the Civil Code which is the cornerstone of private law in Japan and business related laws in a comprehensive manner. The author presents the current state of Japanese law in operation by referring to numerous cases and the latest discussions. Since the last edition in 1999, Japanese Law, in almost every area, has undergone substantial reform, all of which is reflected in the new text. In particular, the new edition contains the first comprehensive analysis of the new Company Law and the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law. This makes this book an essential reference work for all who have an interest in Japanese law.

Japanese Design Law and Practice' is the only book in English that provides a detailed overview and discussion of product design protection and practice under Japanese law. Japan is a significant hub of product design, and Japanese designs have made their mark in the world across a wide range of industries. The book features an analysis of the design law (including the far-reaching 2020 amendments) and how it has been applied by Japanese courts and the Japan Patent Office. A unique feature of the book is that it includes not only an examination of the design law by legal experts but also a discussion of design protection from the perspective of Japanese designers.

A careful analysis of Japan's dealings with its legal system through a time of unprecedented change (1868- 1960). A must for scholars of Japanese studies, historians and jurists alike.

In this introduction to Japanese law, J. Mark Ramseyer and Minoru Nakazato combine an economic approach with a clear and often amusing account of the law itself to challenge commonly held ideas about the law. Arguing against such things as the assumption that Japanese law differs from law in the United States and the idea that law plays only a trivial role in Japan or is culturally determined, this book will be recognized as a major contribution to the understanding of Japanese law. "A compelling economic analysis. . . . This book remains one of the few concerning Japanese law that successfully brings to life the legal culture of Japan." —Bonnie L. Dixon, New York Law Journal

Japan, the geopolitical lynchpin in the East Asian region, has developed a unique maritime security policy and interpretation of the law of the sea. Japanese Maritime Security and the Law of the Sea examines Japan’s domestic laws and its approach to international law.

外国人研究者の視点から、日本法の歴史的形成・発展や現代法の構造や制度を英語で解説。外国人学習者・研究者に最適なテキスト。

In a world of globalised media, Japanese popular culture has become a signifi cant fountainhead for images, narrative, artefacts, and identity. From Pikachu, to instantly identifi able manga memes, to the darkness of adult anime, and the hyper- consumerism of product tie- ins, Japan has bequeathed to a globalised world a rich variety of ways to imagine, communicate, and interrogate tradition and change, the self, and the technological future. Within these foci, questions of law have often not been far from the surface: the crime and justice of Astro Boy; the property and contract of Pokémon; the ecological justice of Nausicaä; Shinto’s focus on order and balance; and the anxieties of origins in J- horror. This volume brings together a range of global scholars to refl ect on and critically engage with the place of law and justice in Japan’s popular cultural legacy. It explores not only the global impact of this legacy, but what the images, games, narratives, and artefacts that comprise it reveal about law, humanity, justice, and authority in the twenty-first century.

Lawsuits are rare events in most people's lives. High-stakes cases are even less commonplace. Why is it, then, that scholarship about the Japanese legal system has focused almost exclusively on epic court battles, large-scale social issues, and corporate governance? Mark D. West's Law in Everyday Japan fills a void in our understanding of the relationship between law and social life in Japan by shifting the focus to cases more representative of everyday Japanese life. Compiling case studies based on seven fascinating themes—karaoke-based noise complaints, sumo wrestling, love hotels, post-Kobe earthquake condominium reconstruction, lost-and-found outcomes, working hours, and debt-induced suicide—Law in Everyday Japan offers a vibrant portrait of the way law intermingles with social norms, historically ingrained ideas, and cultural mores in Japan. Each example is informed by extensive fieldwork. West interviews all of the participants-from judges and lawyers to defendants, plaintiffs, and their families-to uncover an everyday Japan where law matters, albeit in very surprising ways.