Heisei Renewal or Heisei Transformation: Are Legal Reforms Really Changing Japan?

Abstract

A decade of legal reforms has caused some to ask whether Japan is on the verge of a new era. At least on the books the magnitude of legal change has been extraordinary. A new mixed electoral system came into being in 1994 election amendments. In 1997 and 1998 banking and capital market reforms were designed to lead to Japan's big bang. An administrative procedure act, a products liability law, a new code of civil procedure, a Freedom of Information Act, were also among the decade's well-touted achievements. More recent reforms have included major changes in Japanese company law, the restructuring of legal education, and the introduction of a system of lay judges (saiban'in) in the adjudication of serious crimes. This paper examines three areas of reform and their effects. It commences with the electoral reforms. It continues with an evaluation of the changes that are taking place in the legal profession and in legal education. The final issue is corporate governance and organizational autonomy. In each case, the paper argues, the reforms did not deal with fundamental institutional structures and thus none have effected or are like to effect transformational changes. Continuity persists despite the reforms. The changes that have occurred appear thus far to be either superficial or only marginal.

Keywords: Japan, judiciarly, career judges, court organization, judicial independence, judicial appointment, corruption (lack of), public trust