Reconstituting Japanese Law: International Norms and Domestic Litigation
41 Pages Posted: 24 Aug 2010
Date Written: August 24, 2008
Abstract
This paper examines a number of lawsuits challenging racial discrimination in Japan’s private sector. Since Japan does not have a law banning private acts of racial discrimination, victims of racial discrimination invoke international human rights law to buttress their claims for compensation. I argue that Japanese judges are, by and large, receptive to these international law claims, but that the system for adjudicating racial discrimination disputes is inadequate. Specifically, a law that bans private acts of racial discrimination would put Japan in line with recently emergent global norms of equality.
Keywords: human rights, racial discrimination, ethnic others, international law, domestic application
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