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.

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.

Examines the relationship between social movements and the law in bringing about social change in Japan

Many people believe that conflict in the well-disciplined Japanese society is so rare that the Japanese legal system is of minor importance. Frank Upham shows conclusively that this view is mistaken and demonstrates that the law is extensively used, on the one hand, by aggrieved groups to articulate their troubles and mobilize political support and, on the other, by the government to channel and manage conflict after it has arisen. This is the first Western book to take law seriously as an integral part of the dynamics of Japanese business and society, and to show how an informal legal system can work in a complex industrial democracy. Upham does this by focusing on four recent controversies with broad social implications: first, how Japan dealt with the world's worst industrial pollution and eventually became a model for Western environmental reforms; second, how the police and courts have allowed one Japanese outcast group to use carefully orchestrated physical coercion to achieve wide-ranging affirmative action programs; third, how Japanese working women used the courts to force employers to eliminate many forms of discrimination and eventually convinced the government to pass an equal employment opportunity act; and, finally, how the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and various sectors of Japanese industry have used legal doctrine to cope with the dramatic changes in Japan's economy over the last twenty-five years. Readers interested in the interaction of law and society generally; those interested in contemporary Japanese sociology, politics, and anthropology; and American lawyers, businessmen, and government officials who want to understand how law works in Japan will all need this unusual new book.

Winner of the John Phillip Reed Book Award, American Society for Legal History A legal historian opens a window on the monumental postwar effort to remake fascist Germany and Japan into liberal rule-of-law nations, shedding new light on the limits of America’s ability to impose democracy on defeated countries. Following victory in WWII, American leaders devised an extraordinarily bold policy for the occupations of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan: to achieve their permanent demilitarization by compelled democratization. A quintessentially American feature of this policy was the replacement of fascist legal orders with liberal rule-of-law regimes. In his comparative investigation of these epic reform projects, noted legal historian R. W. Kostal shows that Americans found it easier to initiate the reconstruction of foreign legal orders than to complete the process. While American agencies made significant inroads in the elimination of fascist public law in Germany and Japan, they were markedly less successful in generating allegiance to liberal legal ideas and institutions. Drawing on rich archival sources, Kostal probes how legal-reconstructive successes were impeded by German and Japanese resistance on one side, and by the glaring deficiencies of American theory, planning, and administration on the other. Kostal argues that the manifest failings of America’s own rule-of-law democracy weakened US credibility and resolve in bringing liberal democracy to occupied Germany and Japan. In Laying Down the Law, Kostal tells a dramatic story of the United States as an ambiguous force for moral authority in the Cold War international system, making a major contribution to American and global history of the rule of law.

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.

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.

This book provides a detailed examination of judicial decision-making in Japanese cases involving sexual violence. It describes the culture of 'eroticised violence' in Japan, which sees the feminine body as culpable and the legal system which encourages homogeneity and conformity in decision-making and shows how the legal constraints confronting women claiming sexual assaults are enormous. It includes analysis of specific case studies and a discussion of recent moves to address the problem.

The only book of its kind available in English, Civil Procedure in Japan is the most reliable and comprehensive reference on the broad subject of the Japanese civil justice system. Civil Procedure in Japan discusses the problems encountered in litigating a civil controversy in the chronological order in which they are most likely to arise. Since civil procedure, as all law, is a product of historical developments and since it cannot be understood without reference to the political structure within it is to operate, Chapter 1 presents the historical background to date of the development of court procedure. The chapter looks at Japan's political organization (Executive, Legislative, etc), the court structure, and the sources of law. Chapter 2 is devoted to a look at the world of Japanese Legal Profession including legal education and non-Japanese lawyers in Japan, while Chapter 3 is an overview of the Judiciary as a whole. Chapter 4 sets forth the basic concepts involved in the judiciary authority and its interface with other governmental authorities. Subsequent chapters deal with practical issues of civil procedure, starting with Chapter 5 through Chapter 8, the trial is traced from beginning (parties to action and pre-commencement preparation including provisional remedies) through appellate procedures. Chapters 8 and 9 deal with various judicial proceedings outside of typical civil actions. Chapter 11 specifically explains various insolvency proceedings from straight bankruptcy to corporate reorganization. Chapter 12 is devoted to the arbitration law of 2002. Chapter 13 is about various terms of the court costs. Enforcement of civil judgments is treated in detail in Chapter 14. Finally, Chapter 15 is reserved for international cooperation in litigation and sets forth Japan's bilateral arrangements for international co-operation. Furthermore, appendices include an English translation of the Code and Rules of Civil Procedure of 1996 and other important statutes, English translations of sample judgments, glossaries, bibliography, ect.

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this practical analysis of the law of contracts in Japan covers every aspect of the subject - definition and classification of contracts, contractual liability, relation to the law of property, good faith, burden of proof, defects, penalty clauses, arbitration clauses, remedies in case of non-performance, damages, power of attorney, and much more. Lawyers who handle transnational contracts will appreciate the explanation of fundamental differences in terminology, application, and procedure from one legal system to another, as well as the international aspects of contract law. Throughout the book, the treatment emphasizes drafting considerations. An introduction in which contracts are defined and contrasted to torts, quasi-contracts, and property is followed by a discussion of the concepts of 'consideration' or 'cause' and other underlying principles of the formation of contract. Subsequent chapters cover the doctrines of 'relative effect', termination of contract, and remedies for non-performance. The second part of the book, recognizing the need to categorize an agreement as a specific contract in order to determine the rules which apply to it, describes the nature of agency, sale, lease, building contracts, and other types of contract. Facts are presented in such a way that readers who are unfamiliar with specific terms and concepts in varying contexts will fully grasp their meaning and significance. Its succinct yet scholarly nature, as well as the practical quality of the information it provides, make this book a valuable time-saving tool for business and legal professionals alike. Lawyers representing parties with interests in Japan will welcome this very useful guide, and academics and researchers will appreciate its value in the study of comparative contract law.