Library Guides: Southeast Asian Region Countries Law: Japan

World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - Country Profile

World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - Country Profile for Japan

World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index (Full Report)
World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - Country Profile for Japan
The Index provides data on the following dimensions of the rule of law:
» Limited government powers
» Absence of corruption
» Order and security
» Fundamental rights
» Open government
» Effective regulatory enforcement
» Access to civil justice
» Effective criminal justice
» Informal justice

Latest Japanese Legal News

Japanese-English Legal Dictionaries

English-Japanese legal dictionary and handbook
by Samuel Jarman: print dictionary held in University of Melbourne Law Library, Law Reserve collection, call number: K 126 L3 JARM (2 hour loan). Check catalogue record for details.
Japanese-English legal dictionary
Standard bilingual online dictionary compiled by Japanese Law Translation
Japanese Law Translation

Japan's Legal System

Japan is a densely populated archipelago in the Pacific Ocean and has the world's third largest economy.Japan has a complex legal history, influenced early on by China, continental Europe in the late 19th century and Anglo-American law following World War II. "However, it has also been framed by international law and law reformers remain attracted to broader 'global standards'. Accordingly, Japanese law can be expected to remain an archetypical 'hybrid' legal system, not readily characterized as belonging to any particular 'legal family'" (Smits JM 2006, Elgar Encyclopedia of Comparative Law, p. 357).

The modern constitution was adopted in 1946, following World War II. It has three fundamental principles, that sovereignty resides in the people (no longer with the emperor), a respect for human rights, and pacifism.

"Japanese Law: an overview" in Elgar encyclopedia of comparative law by edited by Jan M. Smits
Call Number: KB 100 ELGA (Law Reserve)
ISBN: 9781845420130
Publication Date: 2006
See chapter 33: Japanese Law by Masaki Abe and Luke Nottage

The Constitution of Japan

Legal systems of the world : a political and social encyclopedia by Herbert M. Kritzer
Call Number: KL 42 LEGA
Publication Date: 2005
For information on Japan see pp. 773-780
Japan statistical year-book
Also available in print in the UniM ERC B: Research Collection, call number 315.2 NIHO.

Beginning Japanese Legal Research

The following tips can help you in your research:

See the drop-down menu under the Japan tab for more information on legislation, case law, treaties and law reform
See the Books & Journals link in the drop-down menu for more information on books and journals held by the university, including electronic resources
Browse the law library shelves beginning at KT 4621 for books on Japan and the law

For other research guides on Japanese Legal Research see:

Foreign Law Guide (Brill)
The Foreign Law Guide (FLG) is an essential database offering relevant information on sources of foreign law, including complete bibliographic citations to legislation, the existence of English translations and selected references to secondary sources in one virtual destination. Broad in content and global in scope, the FLG is an indispensable resource for comparative law research and a fundamental tool for developing a foreign and comparative law collection. Approximately 190 jurisdictions are systemically covered and updated by a global team of experts.

Kodansha encyclopedia of Japan

Kodansha encyclopedia of Japan.
Call Number: UniM Bail REF: 952.00321 KODA
Publication Date: 1983
Nine volume Encyclopedia of Japan.

General Country Information

The CIA World Factbook- Japan
Japan Statistical Yearbook
"The Japan Statistical Yearbook is the comprehensive and systematic summary of basic statistical information of Japan covering wide-ranging fields such as Land, Population, Economy, Society, Culture, and so on. The yearbook covers all fields of statistics published by government and private organizations."

Doing Business in Japan

Doing Business in Japan
(Open Access) Provides statistics and other measures of business regulations and their enforcement for Japan in 2015. The 'Law Library' link on the right-hand side provides a large collection of business laws and regulations, linking to government sites where possible.
Getting the Deal Through: Japan
(UniMelb staff & students)