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- Convenor:
-
Giorgio Fabio Colombo
(University of Nagoya)
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- Stream:
- Economics, Business and Political Economy
- Location:
- Torre B, Piso 3, T11
- Sessions:
- Thursday 31 August, -
Time zone: Europe/Lisbon
Short Abstract:
This panel addresses the recent crisis of the legal education in Japan (including the Law School system) and provides an analysis of current criticalities and perspectives, in order to present the situation and offer some proposal for improvement.
Long Abstract:
In 2004, Japan implemented a seminal reform regarding the access to the legal professions. The new system envisaged, as the primary pathway to become a lawyer, judge, or prosecutor, the attendance to a Law School (Hōka Daigakuin) broadly modelled on the United States' equivalent institution. The purposes of the reform were mainly two: first, increasing the number of legal professionals in the country, their shortage being considered a barrier to (the functioning of) an efficient market of legal services; second, creating a class of jurists with a more diverse background, making them "problem solvers" rather than just "law experts". The first bar examination carried out under the new system, in 2006, saw a significant increase in the passing rate, and the reform was greeted enthusiastically by several commentators.
However, after this initial optimism, it is now possible to argue that the reform was unsuccessful. The passing rate collapsed (from 48.3 to 23.1%); enrollment to the Law Schools is now about one seventh of what it was in 2004 (from 72,800 to 10,370); out of the 74 institutions presently active in the country, 23 have announced their closure or have stopped accepting new students. Many voices are calling for an overhaul of the system.
This panel intends to assess the reasons behind this situation, approaching the subject from three different angles. Takayuki Ii will provide first-hand evidence about the user perspective, by presenting the results of his research on the Law School's students expectations before entering the program and while attending classes; Michela Riminucci will examine whether the reform had an impact on the increase in the number of women in the legal profession. Finally, Andrea Ortolani will discuss the broader topic of the future of undergraduate legal education in Japan, providing an answer to the fundamental question: what should a Japanese faculty of law look like in 2030? After the presentations, the panel coordinator Giorgio Colombo will serve as discussant.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Thursday 31 August, 2017, -Paper short abstract:
This paper aims at analyzing the recent reform of legal education in Japan from the point of view of gender equality by taking into account that apparently gender-blind policies as well might have beneficial repercussions on the level of women's empowerment within a society.
Paper long abstract:
Building a "society in which women shine" seems to be one of the priorities of the current Japanese government, as stated by the Prime Minister Shinzō Abe also in front of the international community at the 68th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2013. However, it is a fact that Japan has been struggling with equal opportunities legislation since at least the eighties, starting from the signature (1980) and ratification (1985) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), soon followed by the passing (1985) and enactment (1986) of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act (EEOA).
Regardless of the impact of the EEOA and subsequent legislation on the labor market, which is still a matter of debate, it is nowadays clear also to politicians and legislators that apparently gender-blind policies, too, might have beneficial repercussions on the level of women's empowerment within a society. For instance, in the Japan Revitalization Strategy of 2016, the reduction of working hours accompanied by an improvement in productivity is mentioned as an instrument to enable people who could not work due to other time-consuming activities such as child-rearing to find a job. In this context, a reform aimed at increasing the number of legal professionals and their diversity could certainly be regarded as a good chance for women.
My purpose is therefore to analyze the reform under the light of gender equality in order to understand whether and how it will shape the path towards a more inclusive society. In particular, it is clear from the data collected by the Japan Federation of Bar Associations in its White Paper on Attorneys (2015) that the percentage of female attorneys spiked in the past decade - although it has in fact been slowly but steadily growing over the last sixty-five years - reaching 18.2% in 2015, and a similar trend can be observed for judges. Such variations probably stemmed from a number of factors that might not be easy to isolate, but a preliminary evaluation of the phenomenon is due.
Paper short abstract:
This paper analyzes the challenges faced by undergraduate legal education in Japan and offers some suggestions on how Japanese faculties of law shall address them in the next years.
Paper long abstract:
After decades of relative stability, undergraduate legal education in Japan is at a crossroads. The reasons are manifold, albeit not all are specific to Japan or to the field of law.
Technological innovation and changes in the social and economic fabric are pushing towards a rethinking of the goals and methods of higher education in many advanced countries. There are also problems specific to Japanese universities: among them, an increased competition from regional and global actors, and a bleak demographic outlook are the most critical. Many voices question whether the current system is preparing adequately Japanese students for the challenges they will face.
Besides these general changes in higher education, internationalization, new technologies, an evolving market for legal services and other factors are changing the legal profession. Japanese legal education and practice cannot insulate themselves from these trends. The introduction in 2004 of the so-called "Law Schools" adds one level of complexity to the picture, as these pressures will affect differently undergraduate legal education offered at faculties of law and legal education offered at law schools.
This paper will focus on undergraduate legal education. It will present the challenges posed by global and internal pressures on Japanese faculties of law, and will offer some suggestions to address these challenges. In particular, it will provide a tentative answer to two fundamental questions: what should be the role of Japanese faculties of law in 2030, and why would an 18 years old student want to enrol in one?
Paper short abstract:
This paper considers the Japanese Law Schools based on the result of questionnaire and surveys to current Law School students. In reference to the evaluation of students, this paper discusses the challenges the current system is facing and ways to reform and improve its functioning.
Paper long abstract:
The Japanese Law School system was proposed and set up in the framework of a judicial reform aimed to foster a legal profession rich in both quality and quantity. According to the recommendations of the Justice System Reform Council of 2001, Law Schools were expected to provide thorough education so that a significant ratio of the students who would have completed the course (e.g., 70 to 80% of such students) could pass the to-be-established new national bar examination. With due attention to the complex process of implementing the new legal training system (which pivoted around the Law Schools), the aim was first to increase the number of successful candidates for the existing national bar examination, to eventually reach 3,000 successful candidates per year around 2010 in the new national bar examination.
However, due to some miscalculations (including the establishment of many law schools - 74 at the outset), the reform resulted in an insufficient increase of the passing rate at the bar examination. Moreover, many candidates prefer to skip the Law School, and use an alternative route (a preliminary examination) to enter the Bar. Now young lawyers are under strain, the passing rate of the bar examination is below 30%, and around one third of schools have suspended accepting applications for enrollment. The whole Japanese Law School system is being questioned in its very significance of existence.
This paper follows this course of events and considers the Japanese Law Schools based on the result of questionnaire and surveys to current Law School students. They report merits and demerits of the Law School system. In reference to the evaluation of students, this paper discusses the challenges the current system is facing and ways to reform and improve its functioning.