The Development of Legal Education in Japan - The Case of the Leading Program at Nagoya University

Abstract

This short essay introduces one of Nagoya University’s special programs, the leading program for cross-border legal institution design, as an example of the response of Japanese universities to the social changes in Japan as well as in the world.

Nagoya University launched in 2012 a new type of graduate school program in English, the program for leading graduate schools “Cross-border Legal Institution Design”. The leading programs in doctoral education are a national scheme managed by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), with funding from Japan’s Ministry of Education (MEXT), which aims to cultivate a select number of outstanding students in any academic field. Our school’s program is one of them, but was the only program selected from the legal field. This essay describes the overview of the leading program, and then, reflects on its significances and problems.

Keywords: Legal Education, Japan, Nagoya University, Leading Program, Cross-border Legal Institution Design