Japanese law, the law as it has developed inJapan as a consequence of a meld of two cultural and legal traditions, oneindigenous Japanese, the other Western. Before Japan’s isolation from the West was ended in the mid-19th century, Japanese law developed independently of Western influences. Conciliation was emphasized in response to social pressures exerted through anexpanded family unit and a close-knitcommunity. Few rules prescribed how disputes should be resolved. The closest counterpart to the Western lawyer was thekujishi,an innkeeper who developed acounseling function. Remarkably little law in the modern sense existed; a static society, which officially discouraged commercial activity, apparently neither desired nor needed a developed legal order.

Fundamental changes inevitably followed Japan’s sudden involvement with the Western world after theMeiji Restoration of 1868. Japan sought to construct an economic, political, and legal structure capable of commanding respect internationally, ending extraterritoriality, and preserving national independence. The introduction of Western law was one element in a wholesale importation of things Western.

In legal matters the Japanese took for models the systems of continental Europe, especially theGerman. The drafters of theJapanese Civil Code (q.v.) of 1896 surveyed many legal systems, including the French, Swiss, and common laws, taking something from each. Their final product is, however, bestcharacterized as following the first draft of theGerman Civil Code. In its subsequent development the Japanese legal system remained true to these sources. The 1947 revisions of the code provisions dealing with relatives and succession, which had reflected traditional Japanese attitudes, completed the transition of Japanese civil law to the continental European family of laws.

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civil law: Japanese law

On some points, however, Japanese law is closer to that of theUnited States than to European models, largely as a result of the post-World War II occupation and of later contacts with U.S. legal thinking and education. The examination of witnesses in civil cases is now (at least theoretically) modeled on U.S. procedure. The absence of a specialhierarchy of administrative courts is consistent with U.S. ideas. Many aspects of labour andcorporation law are U.S.-inspired.

Nevertheless, in its rules and institutions, the Japanese legal system is closer to thecivil law of Europe than to thecommon law. In many ways, moreover, the Japanese legal order differs markedly from all Western legal orders. Most importantly, law in Japan plays a far lesspervasive role in resolving disputes and creating and adjusting rules regulating conduct. The paucity of Japanese decisions involving automobile accidents,manufacturer’s liability for defective products, and nuisance may be surprising to Westerners, who also may note the small size of the Japanese bar and the persistence of extralegal methods of resolving disputes. Local police stations provide conciliation rooms. Elders act as go-betweens. For many purposes a familytranscending thenuclear family still exists. The notion that a business isanalogous to a family unit persists and typically influenceslabour relations, especially in small- and middle-sized firms. In the relativelyhomogeneous Japanese society,social status carries heavy obligations, and community pressure is extremely powerful.

Now that Japan has become a dominant world economic power and has increased its global geopolitical presence, law may come to play a role there more akin to its role in the West. In addition, the sociological supports essential to the continued vitality of the Japaneseconception of law are being undercut by the shift from a rural, agricultural economy to an urban, mechanized society.