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SOURCES OF LAW Statutory law originates in the Diet Of Japan with the rubber-stamp approval of the Emperor . Under the current constitution, the Emperor may not veto or otherwise refuse to approve a law passed by Diet. Six Codes The main body of Japanese statutory law is a collection called the Six Codes (六法 ''roppō''). The six codes referred to are: # the Civil Code Of Japan (民法 ''Minpō'', 1896) in five volumes (General Provisions, Rights, Claims, Families, and Inheritance) # the Commercial Code Of Japan (商法 ''Shōhō'', 1899) # the Criminal Code Of Japan (刑法 ''Keihō'', 1907) # the Constitution Of Japan (日本国憲法 ''Nippon-koku-kempō'', 1946) # the Criminal Procedure Code Of Japan (刑事訴訟法 ''Keiji-soshō-hō'', 1948) # the Civil Procedure Code Of Japan (民事訴訟法 ''Minji-soshō-hō'', 1996) Legislation in Japan tends to be terse. The statutory volume ''Roppō Zensho'', similar in size to a desk dictionary, contains all six codes as well as the other statutes enacted by the Diet. Administrative guidance While Japanese government agencies generally issue formal regulations for the implementation of statutes, they have very limited formal regulatory power in the absence of Diet legislation. However, when dealing with businesses, they often issue "directions," "requests," "warnings," "encouragements," and "suggestions," with the implication that noncompliant parties will be obstructed by the agency in the future by receiving poorer quotas or less government aid. The Cold War-era Ministry Of International Trade And Industry was especially well-known for this practice, generally known as "administrative guidance" (''gyōsei shidō''). Precedent While Japan is a civil law system and thus gives no binding value to judicial decisions, the precedents of the Supreme Court and the High Courts are commonly referred to and cited as persuasive precedent. CIVIL LAW Contracts Japanese Contract law allows greater ambiguity than American contract law. A Japanese contract, for instance, does not require clear statements of offer, acceptance, or consideration: most simply begin with a declaration, e.g. "Company X and Company Y hereby enter into the following agreement." Contracts also tend to contain very little detail, with the parties working out complications as they arise. Torts Japan's Tort system sees considerably less activity than tort systems in North America. One reason for this is that attorney's fees are based on the amount of damages sought in the suit, not the actual damages won. Because Japan does not use Juries , judges decide the outcome of cases, and are usually not easy to sway emotionally. As a result, many individuals choose not to sue when their odds of winning seem low, and when they do sue, they tend to sue for small amounts of damages. Property Like several other civil law states, Japan places a great emphasis on the rights of the complex, which offered several previous tenants special deals on apartments. Despite this emphasis on tenant rights, the government exercises a formidable Eminent Domain power and can expropriate land for any public purpose as long as reasonable compensation is afforded. This power was famously used in the wake of World War II to dismantle the estates of the defunct peerage system and sell their land to farmers at very cheap rates (one historical reason for agriculture's support of LDP governments). Narita International Airport is another well-known example of eminent domain power in Japan. CORPORATE LAW Japan's current corporate law originates from the Illinois Business Corporation Act of 1933, which was recommended to the occupation government by Douglas MacArthur 's legal advisors. There have been gradual changes since then, but the system retains a classical American structure. A comprehensive overhaul of the law is scheduled to be implemented in mid-2006. Under Japanese law the basic types of companies are:
Directors' duties and shareholder liability rules generally follow American precedent. CRIMINAL LAW ''See: Criminal Justice System Of Japan '' In comparison to other countries in the developed world, Japan has a unique prosecutorial system. 99 percent of criminal defendants are convicted in Japan, and almost all are convicted following their own confession. Prosecutor s tend to bring charges only when they have a signed confession from the accused, and such confessions often occur after long questioning by police. Although defendants have a right to counsel, it is generally not possible for them to obtain counsel between their arrest and Indictment . This makes it difficult to judge the true extent of criminal activity in Japan, since many possible criminals refuse to confess and are thus never indicted. Japan has a (which carries a typical sentence of 2 - 5 years in prison, and a theoretical maximum of fifteen). Note: The penalties in the Criminal Law were revised and reinforced in 2004. Therefore, the lower limit of the penalty of rape is now 3 years in prison, with a theoretical maximum of twenty. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ''See: Japanese Copyright Law , Japanese Patent Law .'' LAW ENFORCEMENT The main law enforcement agency in Japan is the National Police Agency (警察庁 ''Keisatsuchō''), which reports to the prime minister. Most day-to-day policing is carried out by prefectural police, which report to prefectural governors. Administrative law enforcement duties are carried out by inspection departments of the various cabinet ministries. LEGAL PROFESSIONS Japan recognizes a number of legal professions. While Japan is often said to have dramatically fewer lawyers than other countries such as the United States, the total proportion of legal specialists in both countries is about the same. The Japanese government has also been taking steps in recent years to increase the number of legal professionals nationwide. Attorney s in Japan are called ''bengoshi'' (弁護士). To become a ''bengoshi'', a person must pass Japan's notoriously difficult bar exam and then spend eighteen months studying at the Legal Research and Training Institute in Tokyo, directly run by the Supreme Court. The bar examination currently has a 3% pass rate. A bachelors degree is not required, but approximately 90% of those who enter have LL.B. degrees from the top universities in Japan. Graduating from a top university does not ensure admittance to the bar; even graduates of the University Of Tokyo , which is generally believed to have the best law faculty in Japan, only have a 10% pass rate on the LRTI exam. Many ''bengoshi'' must take the exam three or four times in order to gain admission. Those admitted to the LRTI work at law firms, in prosecutor's office, clerk for judges, before becoming attorneys. Graduate Law School s have emerged in Japan in the last few years, and the LRTI admissions process will be altered from 2006 so that only law school graduates, or graduates in other fields who complete a preliminary examination, will be allowed to take the exam. Under the new system, the LRTI apprenticeship will be shortened to one year, but the complete process will be extended for most individuals because of the extra 2-3 years needed for law school. Although ''bengoshi'' are the only individuals allowed to argue disputes in court, other professionals, such as scriveners (司法書士''shihōshoshi''), accountants (公認会計士 ''kōninkaikeishi''), tax specialists (税理士 ''zeirishi''), patent agents (弁理士 '' Benrishi '') and notaries (公証人 ''kōshōnin''), are allowed to give legal advice. In-house legal advisors at major corporations are almost entirely unregulated, although there has been a trend in the past decade towards attorneys moving in-house. Foreign lawyers can apply for the status of foreign solicitor (外国法事務弁護士 ''gaikokuhō jimu bengoshi'', abbreviated ''gaiben''), which allows them to give advice on their home country's law, but does not allow them to argue cases in Japanese courts. ''Gaiben'' are strictly regulated and must have several years of experience as attorneys in their home country. Membership in a bar association is mandatory for ''bengoshi'' and ''gaiben''. Most prefectures have one local bar association, with the exception of Tokyo which has three (the Tokyo Bar Association, Dai-Ichi Tokyo Bar Association, and Dai-Ni Tokyo Bar Association). COURTS AND PROCEDURE ''See: Judicial System Of Japan '' Japan's court system is divided into four basic tiers, 438 Summary Courts, one District Court in each prefecture, nine High Courts and the Supreme Court . There is also one Family Court tied to each District Court. FURTHER READING
SEE ALSO Specific laws
CASE LAW International Family Law
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