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The State of Legal Education in Japan: Problems and “Re”-Renovations in JD Law Schools

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2016

Nobuyuki SATO
Nobuyuki SATO*
Affiliation:
Chuo Law School, Chuo University, Tokyo
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Abstract

In Japan, the Juris Doctor (JD)-style law-school system was introduced in 2004 as part of a judicial system reform. As of late, this system seems to have become dysfunctional. The pass rate of the national bar exam (NBE) is around 20% every year, and the NBE puts students are under considerable pressure. “Re”-renovation of legal education is, thereby, a huge and pressing issue. Reducing the number of JD students could be a quick solution to the current problems. However, this is not enough, nor is it good for fostering legal professionals “rich both in quality and quantity” (the second aim of the judicial reform). Legal education should go beyond the NBE. The Japanese government and law schools have just begun to re-renovate legal education, giving priority to three challenges: (1) offering continuous legal-education programmes for practitioners; (2) enhancing community service and supporting career development of graduates in the new legal service area; and (3) internationalization. How can the Japanese legal-education system go beyond the NBE? Re-renovation deserves continued attention.

Keywords

legal education in JapanJapanese law schoolJDjudicial system reformnational bar examinternationalization
Type
Legal Education in East Asia
Information
Asian Journal of Law and Society , Volume 3 , Issue 2 , November 2016 , pp. 213 - 225
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press and KoGuan Law School, Shanghai Jiao Tong University 

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Footnotes

*

Professor of Law, Chuo Law School, Chuo University, Tokyo. LL.B. (Chuo, 1985), LL.M. in Public Law (Chuo, 1988) and PhD. in Law (Chuo, 2000). His research fields are comparative constitutional law, focusing on Japan, the UK, the US, and Canada, information law, and legal research. He worked for Chuo University as an Associate Dean of the Law School (2008–10) and Vice President of the University (2011–14). This paper is based on the author’s presentation at the session entitled “Innovations in East Asian Law Schools and Collaborative Possibilities for US Law Schools” organized by the Section on East Asian Law and Society (EALS) of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) on 7 January 2016, at the 2016 AALS Annual Meeting in New York. The author truly appreciates Professor Setsuo Miyazawa, who hosted the session as the founding chair of the EALS, and the Japan Association of Law Schools, which financially supported the author’s attendance at the 2016 AALS Annual Meeting. Correspondence to Nobuyuki Sato, 42-8, Ichigaya-honmura-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-8473, Japan. E-mail address: nsato@tamacc.chuo-u.ac.jp.

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