Paper short abstract:

This presentation will introduce the judicial reforms in Japan (especially the establishment of Japan Legal Support Center) and consider the current status and issues of JLSC.

Paper long abstract:

Japan carried out a full-scale reform of its judicial system in the 1990s. To create a judicial system more accessible to citizens, it took actions including the introduction of the citizen judge system, establishment of law schools, and enactment of the Comprehensive Legal Support Act. Also related to access to justice, as a result of a series of judicial system reforms, the civil law legal aid system was broadened, and the court-appointed defender system was completed. In particular, through initiatives undertaken by the Japan Legal Support Center (JLSC) established under the Comprehensive Legal Support Act and by the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA), lawyers have been sent to judicially underserved areas more frequently than before, gradually reducing difficulties in accessing justice caused by geographical location.

　Measures taken in response to legal system reforms as cited above—specifically, improving legal organizations, providing legal information, broadening access points, and so on—have, to a certain degree, effectively removed structural factors obstructing access.

　However, the series of measures described above do not reach people who lack affinity with the system itself—in other words, people who are outside the categories of people for whom the system was designed. In fact, even when these measures reach such people to some degree, the people do not necessarily utilize them. Even assuming they have opportunities to obtain legal information, or encountered legal information some way or another, there is a wide gap between knowing about the information and actually utilizing it. It is important to consider structurally dependent measures that do not extend appropriate legal support to areas where there is a need for it. At the same time, it is important to consider measures in the context of the realities of those who have lost ground as a result of being committed to the system.

　This presentation will introduce the judicial reforms in Japan (especially the establishment of Japan Legal Support Center) and consider the current status and issues of JLSC.