Web Resources
(Updated
May 15, 2013)
Search Engines
Using Google and other web search engines can be very useful for tracking down information bout Japanese law, in English or in Japanese. When using Japanese text terms in your search, it's a good idea to specify that you're looking for Japanese language materials. Otherwise, your results may include many unrelated materials form other East Asian languages.
For Japanese language searching, try for example: the "Goo" search engine at: http://www.goo.ne.jp/. Google also works for Japanese searches when configured properly (see the Google Preferences page at: http://www.google.com/preferences) .
Major Online Resources For Japan-Related Research
Please note that most of these resources are available to students, faculty, and staff of the University of Washington only when connecting from University of Washington IP addresses.
- Bibliographic Databases
- United States
OCLC (see below) is a major database of books, serials, and other materials. It contains records for millions items relevant to Japanese law in English, Japanese, and other languages.
- Japan
- Australia
- Asian Law Online (Asian Law Centre, University of Melbourne Law School)
"The Asian Law Centre bibliographic database is offered to the public as a service to assist students and scholars of Asian legal systems. It is a collection of English language materials on Asian laws available throughout the world and includes books, chapters in books, journal articles and theses. It does not include newspapers, magazines, conference papers or unpublished articles."
http://www.law.unimelb.edu.au/alc/bibliography
- Database Portals
- University of Washington
- Japan
- Transparency of Japanese Law Project
This Kyushu University-based project provides English translations for many Japanese laws and court decisions in the fields of Corporate Law, Goods and Services Transaction Law, Financing Law, Intellectual Property Law, Insolvency law, Arbitration law, Civil litigation law, and Public International law. According to the website's home page, "The Transparency of Japanese Law Project aims to provide legal information on international transactions in Japan to the overseas community by organizing and translating into English, information which includes: overviews of Japanese law, specific Japanese legislation, doctrines, and case law."
http://www.tomeika.jur.kyushu-u.ac.jp/index.html
-
Porta: National Diet Library Digital Archive Portal
Porta allows comprehensive searching of
many digital archives in Japan. Many of these resources provide
full-text of articles and books.
- GeNii (Global Environment for Networked Intellectual Information)
(See also CiNii)
This portal site, run by the Japanese government's National Institute of Informatics (NII), has a variety of online resources for research on Japan. Some of these are free, others require a fee.
http://ge.nii.ac.jp/genii/jsp/index-e.jsp (English)
http://ge.nii.ac.jp/genii/jsp/index.jsp (Japanese)
- Encyclopedias, etc.
- Japan Knowledge (UW Restricted)
This online mostly Japanese-language portal Provides access to various Japanese language resources, including:
- 日本大百科全書 [Nihon dai hyakka zensho]
- 現代用語の基礎知識 [Gendai yōgo no kihon chishiki]
- 日本人名大辞典 [Nihon jinmei daijiten]
- 辞書（和英、英和、日本語）[Japanese-English, English Japanese and Japanese Dictionaries]
- JK Who's Who
- Screenshot
- Japan Knowledge How-to Guide (PDF)
- (also includes the English-Language Encyclopedia of Japan)
Connect to Japan Knowledge (UW Restricted)
- Kodansha encyclopedia of Japan (Online Version
(now part of Japan Knowledge).
(UW Restricted)
This resource includes citations to many famous cases, jurists, defendants, and other various historical aspects of law in Japan. It
is part of the online service "Japan Knowledge." From the Japan Knowledge
homepage, select Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan from the list of resources on
the right. You may search in English or Japanese for various law-related
documents.
Screenshot
http://www.jkn21.com/
- Foreign Press Center, Japan (FPCJ)
Provides updated information on Japanese society (including new laws and cases in the news.) Also includes a directory major institutions and a "Facts and Figures of Japan" page.
http://fpcj.jp/?ml_lang=en
- Wikipedia on Japanese law
This online "free encyclopedia" has many detailed Japanese-law related articles, most linked from the main article on Japanese law:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_law (English)
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B3%95%E5%BE%8B (Japanese)
- LexisNexis (English version)
- Includes some useful resources for Japanese legal research, in English. Allows full text searching of law review articles, newspapers, magazines, and wire services such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Kyodo Newswire, and the Nikkei Weekly. UW Law students may access these services at the terminals available in the Law Library.
Non-UW law students may use LEXIS®-NEXIS® UNIVerse at:
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe
- Legal Databases in Japan (Pay)
See also CD ROMs on Japanese Law
- Periodical Indexes
- English
- LegalTrac (Legal Resource Index), 1980-
An index of Law-related journals. Covers over 800 major English language law-related journals. Has records for articles and cases in these journals. Available to UW Law users at:
http://infotrac.galegroup.com/menu
- Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals, 1985-
The Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals covers the law of countries other than the United States, the British Isles, and the British Commonwealth. 1985 to the present. Updated quarterly.
(IFLP also has limited indexing in romanization of selected Japanese legal periodicals through about 1992.)
Connect to IFLP (UW Restricted)
- Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS), 1980-
Indexes over 1400 periodicals and thousands of government documents, statistical reports and other information relating to a wide range of public and social policy issues. For materials in English and several other European languages.
Connect to PAIS (UW Restricted)
- JSTOR
"Journal STORage", a database mainly English language journal articles focusing on older volumes rather than current issues. Coverage starts from first issues and runs up t between 1 and 7 years before current publication.
http://www.jstor.org/search/
- Japanese
- CiNii (Citation Index of the National Institute of Informatics) Search Page
CiNII (pronounced "sign-ee") is the NII's index to journals included in it's huge full-text database (over 6000 titles). Full-text Law related titles available free to all users are listed here.
CiNii (English
interface)
CiNii (Japanese
interface)
- Zasshi kiji sakuin shūsei
database (UW Restricted)
"The complete database for Japanese Magazines and Periodicals from the Meiji era
to the present
- 雑誌記事索引
[Zasshhi kiji sakuin]
Free National Diet Library Periodical Index on the NDL website
Click "Search for Japanese Periodicals Index
- RSS Feeds for Current Law-Related Article
National Diet Library (NDL)
Specialized Book Lists
Administrative Scriveners [行政書士 (Gyōsei Shoshi)]
(See also the Legal Workers chart on the Introduction page)
- IGLA 国際行政書士協会 [Kokusai Gyōsei Shoshi Kyōkai] ("International Gyoseisyoshi [ie: gyōsei shoshi] Lawyer Association" [International Administrative Scrivener Association])
http://www.igla.jp/
Archival Materials
- Porta
- アジア歴史資料センター（国立公文書館）[Ajia Rekishi Shiryō Sentā (Kokuritsu Kōbunshokan)] (Japan Center for Asian Historical Records (National Archives of Japan))
(Interface in Japanese, English, Chinese, or Korean; Includes a search interface, and displays images of archival records from the Japanese government and other sources.)
http://www.jacar.go.jp/
- 国立公文書館 = National Archives of Japan [Kokuritsu Kōbunshokan]
http://www.archives.go.jp/
English page: http://www.archives.go.jp/index_e.html
Banking Law
Bar Associations
Bills (Draft Legislation) [法律案]
- 国会提出法案など [Kokkai teishutsu hōan nado] (Bills submitted to the legislature, etc)
Includes links to 1) detailed outlines and 2) the full text of bills submitted to the legislature, beginning with Heisei 11 [1999].
http://www.moj.go.jp/HOUAN/index.html
- 内閣法制局(Naikaku Hōseikyoku)
Includes a list of bills introduced in chronological order. Gives a summary of the content of each bill, and indicates whether or not it has been implemented. The page also gives background on the legislative process.
http://www.clb.go.jp/contents/index.html (Japanese)
- 最近における法律案の提出・成立件数 [Saikin ni okeru hōritsuan no teishutsu, seiritsu kensu] (Number of bills recently submitted and enacted)
Gives statistics on the number of recent bills and the outcomes.
http://www.clb.go.jp/contents/all.html
- The Law-making Process
From the Cabinet Legislation Bureau [内閣法制局]; includes flow chart in English
http://www.clb.go.jp/english/process.html
Commercial Arbitration
- Doing Business in Japan (Zentaro Kitagawa) (UW restricted)
(Available on LexisNexis. Includes commentary on business related law, plus translations of some
relevant statues.)
See: LexisNexis file-name: DBJAPN.
Print version (looseleaf) also available: KNX920 .D64 1980 at REF (Reference)
http://www.lexis.com/research
- 商事法務 Publications [Shōji hōmu] (Commercial law)
Go to this link to find tables of contents for the Shōji hōmu publications noted below:
http://www.shojihomu.co.jp/
- 旬刊商事法務 [Junkan shōji hōmu]
(See also the full run of Junkan Shōji hōmu in the library at: KNX911.3 .J86)
- NBL [エヌ ビー エル (New Business Law)]
(See also the full run of NBL in the library at: KNX911.3 .N35)
Comparative law
Constitutional law
(See also print resources under the subject "Constitutional law--Japan" in the Marian Catalog)
- General Decisions
- Judgments of the Supreme Court, 1952-
This Japanese government website includes the same translations in the print version (which ceased publication with no. 30 (1999)) plus many more summaries of cases (over 500).
http://www.courts.go.jp/english/judgments/index.html
- Supreme Court of Japan
(Information in English about the Supreme Court)
http://www.courts.go.jp/english/
- Hanrei.net
Included are (1) summaries of important recent constitutional, civil and commercial law cases in Japan from 1995 to the present; (2) articles and essays on a variety of topics relating to law in Japan; and (3) links to other sites relating the Japanese law.
http://hanrei.net/
- Intellectual Property Decisions
(See: Court Decisions under Intellectual Property)
- Business-Related
- Transparency of Japanese Law Project
This Kyushu University-based project provides English translations for many Japanese laws and court decisions in the fields of Corporate Law, Goods and Services Transaction Law, Financing Law, Intellectual Property Law, Insolvency law, Arbitration law, Civil litigation law, and Public International law. According to the website's home page, "The Transparency of Japanese Law Project aims to provide legal information on international transactions in Japan to the overseas community by organizing and translating into English, information which includes: overviews of Japanese law, specific Japanese legislation, doctrines, and case law."
http://www.tomeika.jur.kyushu-u.ac.jp/index.html (Home Page)
http://www.tomeika.jur.kyushu-u.ac.jp/search.php (Search Screen)
- Other Materials
- The Japanese Judiciary: Maintaining Integrity, Autonomy and the Public Trust by John O. Haley
(Lectures & Occasional Papers - 2003 - No. 3) Washington University in St. Louis, Whitney R. Harris Institute for Global Legal Studies
This article includes a detailed overview of the organization of the court system in Japan.
http://law.wustl.edu/higls/papers/lectures/2003-3HaleyJapaneseJudiciary.html
- Law-Related Dictionaries
- General Dictionaries
Digital Resources
(Summary of Major Digital Resources Available for Japanese Legal Research at the University of Washington Marian Gould Gallagher Law Library)
Directories
(See also Directories on the "Finding Other Types of Materials" page)
- ReaD (Japan) Directory Database of Research and Development Activities
This Japanese government website, available in English and Japanese, provides contact information for Japanese academics and information on their research interests. It allows searches by name, field of study, and keyword, and provides phone number, email address, and details about current research.
- AccessAsia (Access Asia, from the National Bureau of Asian Research)
Has extensive listings of American Asia scholars. Search by discipline and geographic region.
http://www.accessasia.org/
- Online FPC (Foreign Press Center) Media Directory
Contact information for Government and other bodies (including courts)
http://fpcj.jp/modules/news16/index.php
Family Law
- Japanese Family Law (Children's Rights Network of Japan)
CRN Japan statement: "We want to restore the rights of children in Japan with separated parents, such as in divorce, international parental abduction to Japan, parental kidnapping within Japan and birth out of wedlock."
http://www.crnjapan.com/japan_law/en/
- U.S. Embassy Information on Japanese Family Law
- Organizations and Offices
- Databases and Materials
- 公正取引委員会審決データベースシステム [Kōsei Torihiki Iinkai shinketsu dētabēsu shisutemu] (JFTC Decisions Database System)
Search for decisions of the Japan Fair Trade Commission by Incident number and date or full text.
http://snk.jftc.go.jp/
- 公正取引委員会報道発表資料 [Kōsei Torihiki Iinkai hōdō happyō shiryō] (Fair Trade Commission Press Releases Page)
Press releases from the commission explaining their inter
http://www.jftc.go.jp/e-page/pressreleases/index.html
- 公正取引委員会年次報告検索システム [[Kōsei Torihiki Iinkai nenji hōkoku kensaku shisutemu] (JFTC Annual Reports Search System)
http://snk.jftc.go.jp/cgi-bin/NKensaku.cgi
- Databases and Materials
- Organizations and Offices
Japan Area Studies Sites
- Japanese Studies Databases and Resources Page
(University of Washington Libraries)
http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/JapaneseStudies/
- Japan Documentation Center, JDC Database
"With the closing of the Japan Documentation Center (JDC) on March 31, 2000, the JDC database will not be updated."
(From their web page:
"The Japan Documentation Center was established in 1992 [by the Library of Congress] to collect and disseminate Japanese public policy information. The project successfully developed an information management system and a database of over 5,000 items that includes source materials in fields such as economics, commerce and industry, law, politics, the environment, and social conditions. The collection will be serviced by the Japanese Section staff. The JDC collected difficult-to-obtain unpublished literature, often referred to as "grey literature." The collection included policy studies and reports, white papers and annual reports, draft legislation, think-tank reports, and public opinion polls. The bulk of materials were issued between 1993 and 1999, and about 95% are in Japanese. Each record in the bibliographic database has a detailed English abstract, and the web index file allows full text searching. Researchers can identify useful materials and request copies from the Asian Division.")
http://www.loc.gov/rr/asian/jdc.html
- Academic Info: Japan Studies
http://www.academicinfo.net/japan.html
- Japan Information Access Project
"The Japan Information Access Project is a Washington, DC-based, independent, nonprofit research center to strengthen international understanding of Japanese science, technology, industry, security, and policy."
http://www.jiaponline.org/
- National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR)
http://www.nbr.org/
Japanese Era Names
- Japanese Era Names
Conversion to western years.
A quick conversion formula is to add 88 to Heisei years, 25 to Shōwa years, 11 to Taishō years, and 67 to Meiji years.
(see also: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_era_name#Neng.C5.8D_in_Modern_Japan, and individual articles for each era)
| 平成 (Heisei) |
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
5th
|
6th
|
7th
|
8th
|
9th
|
10th
|
11th
|
12th
|
13th
|
14th
|
15th
|
16th
|
17th
|
18th
|
|
Gregorian
(Add 88 to Heisei)
|
1989
|
1990 |
1991
|
1992
|
1993 |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
|
昭和 (Shōwa)
|
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
5th
|
10th
|
15th
|
20th
|
25th
|
30th
|
35th
|
40th
|
45th
|
50th
|
55th
|
60th
|
64th
|
|
Gregorian
(Add 25 to Shōwa)
|
1926 |
1927 |
1928 |
1929 |
1930 |
1935 |
1940 |
1945 |
1950 |
1955 |
1960 |
1965 |
1970 |
1975 |
1980 |
1985 |
1989 |
|
大正 (Taishō)
|
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
5th
|
6th
|
7th
|
8th
|
9th
|
10th
|
11th
|
12th
|
13th
|
14th
|
15th
|
|
Gregorian
(Add 11 to Taishō)
|
1912 |
1913 |
1914 |
1915 |
1916 |
1917 |
1918 |
1919 |
1920 |
1921 |
1922 |
1923 |
1924 |
1925 |
1926 |
|
明治 (Meiji)
|
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
8th
|
13th
|
18th
|
23rd
|
28th
|
33rd
|
38th
|
43rd
|
45th
|
|
Gregorian
(Add 67 to Meiji)
|
1868 |
1869 |
1870 |
1875 |
1880 |
1885 |
1890 |
1895 |
1900 |
1905 |
1910 |
1912 |
(Source for charts: Wikipedia articles for Heisei, Shōwa, Taishō, and Meiji)
-
Japanguide.com Japanese/Western Year Converter
All in English. Converts Japanese era years to western and western years to Japanese era years
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2272.html
-
Nengocalc
Web program that converts Japanese and/or Western year. Displays kanji (Chinese characters) for Japanese years (so only for those who read some kanji)
http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/geschichte-japans/nengo_calc.htm
Japanese Government Sites
Judicial Reform
Judicial Scriveners and other legal workers
(See also the Legal Workers chart on the Introduction page)
- The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training
労働政策研究・研修機構 [Rōdō Kenkyū, Kenshū Kikō]
Law Faculties and Law Schools
- Law Faculties (法学部)
- Law Schools (法科大学院)
- General Information
- Law School Websites
- Law Schools and Law Faculties With Japan-related Programs Outside Japan
Law Translation Policy
- Japanese Government Law Translation Policy
The Japanese government has implemented a policy to translate as many as 200 laws into English, and provide a website with side-by-side Japanese-English translations. Below are links to information about the policy.
- Nagoya University's Law Translation Project
In Cooperation with Japanese Government
- 日本法令英訳プロジェクト [Nihon Hōrei Eiyaku Purojekuto] (The English Translation of Japanese Laws Project)
This page provides more information about the translation project, links to newly translated laws, and to the dictionaries and software developed to facilitate the translation work.
http://www.kl.i.is.nagoya-u.ac.jp/told/index.html
Law-Related Organizations (Acronyms)
For a list of Links to Academic Society websites, see:
Academic Society HomeVillage (国立情報学研究所(NII), "学協会情報発信サービス")
Useful site created by Japan's NII (National Institute of Informatics). List academic societies by field. For law-related organization websites, in the left frame click "Classified by Field," and then click "Section 2, Law, Political Science"
http://wwwsoc.nii.ac.jp/index-e.html
- 21世紀型法秩序形成プログラム（京都大学大学院法学研究科）
[21-seikigata Hōchitsujo Keisei Puroguramu (Kyōto Daigaku Daigakuin Hōgaku Kenkyūka)]
(Law and Politics 21st Century COE (Program for the Reconstruction of Legal Ordering in the 21st Century))
http://lp21coe.law.kyoto-u.ac.jp/
Program Newsletter PDF files: http://lp21coe.law.kyoto-u.ac.jp/newsletter/index.htmlANJeL (The Australian Network for Japanese Law)
"ANJeL) is an initiative of the law faculties at the Australian National University (ANU), the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and the University of Sydney (USyd). The core aim of ANJeL is to promote scholarly engagement with Japanese law, especially in Australia."
http://www.law.usyd.edu.au/anjel/
- ALC (Asian Law Center) (University of Washington School of Law)
http://www.law.washington.edu/AsianLaw/
- BLHRRI (Buraku Liberation and Human Rights Research Institute)
- CASRIP (Center for Advanced Study and Research on Intellectual Property, University of Washington School of Law)
http://www.law.washington.edu/casrip/
(See also CASRIP Newsletter under Intellectual Property)
- CLAW (Waseda Institute of Comparative Law)
http://www.waseda.jp/hiken/index.html
- CRIC (Copyright Research and Information Center) [著作権情報センター] (Chosakuken jōhō sentā)
http://www.cric.or.jp/cric_e/index.html
- CRN Japan (Children's Rights Network of Japan)
http://www.crnjapan.com/about/en/
- Copymart (= Kopimart) [コピーマート]
(Prof. Zentarō Kitagawa's project to place legal articles on the web (some for a fee, some free))
http://www.copymart.jp/cmi/about_e_f.html
- DJJV, Deutsch-Japanische Juristenvereinigung e.V.
The German-Japanese Association of Lawyers
http://www.djjv.org/
- EHS (英文法令社) [Eibun Hōreisha] (English Language Statutes Co.]
This organization publishes the most comprehensive collection of English translations of Japanese laws, "EHS Law Bulletin Series."
http://www.ehs.or.jp/
- Fair Trade Institute of Japan [公正取引協会] (Kōsei Torihiki Kyōkai)
http://www.koutori-kyokai.or.jp/
- ICCLP ([University of Tokyo] International Center for Comparative Law and Politics) [東京大学比較法政国際センター] (Tōkyō Daigaku Hōgaku Seijigaku Kenkyūka)
"The International Center for Comparative Law and Politics (ICCLP) was formally established within the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Law and Politics in April 1993. Since this time the aim of the center has been to promote international and interdisciplinary scholarship and education across the fields of law and politics."
http://www.j.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~icclp/intro-e.html
- IGLA (国際行政書士協会) [Kokusai Gyōsei Shoshi Kyōkai] ("International Gyoseisyoshi [ie: gyōsei shoshi] Lawyer Association" [International Administrative Scrivener Association])
http://www.igla.jp/
- INPIT (National Center for Industrial Property Information and Training) [工業所有権情報・研修館] (Kōgyō Shoyūken jōhō, kenshūkan]
- IPDL (Industrial Property Digital Library) [特許電子図書館] (Tokkyo Denshi Toshokan)
http://www.ipdl.inpit.go.jp/homepg_e.ipdl (English)
http://www.ipdl.inpit.go.jp/homepg.ipdl (Japanese)
- ISS (Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo) [東京大学社会科学研究所] (Tōkyō Daigaku Shakai Kagaku Kenkyūjo)
This research institute supports and publishes information about some research related to law, such as corporate governance, labor, and the financial system of Japan. Note especially their online publications, Social Science Japan Journal (SSJJ) (http://ssjj.iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp/) and Social Science Japan Newsletter (http://newslet.iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp/).
http://www.iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp/ (Social Science Japan Homepage)
- JAIRO (Japanese Institutional Repositories Online)
http://jairo.nii.ac.jp/en/
- JAIWR (Japanese Association of International Women's Rights)[国際女性の地位協会](Kokusai Josei no Chii Kyōkai)
http://www.jaiwr.org/english/index.html
- JBA (Japanese Bankers Association) [全国銀行協会連合会] (Zenkoku Ginkō Kyōkai Rengōkai]
http://www.zenginkyo.or.jp/en/index.html
- JCAA (Japan Commercial Arbitration Association)
http://www.jcaa.or.jp/e/index-e.html (English)
http://www.jcaa.or.jp/index.html (Japanese)
- JCLU (Japan Civil Liberties Union) [自由人権協会] (Jiyū Jinken Kyōkai)
http://www.jclu.org/index_e.shtml (English)
http://www.jclu.org/ (Japanese)
- JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization)
(see also: under Laws in English)
http://www.jetro.go.jp/
- JFBA (Japan Federation of Bar Associations) [日本弁護士連合会] (Nihon Bengoshi Rengōkai)
http://www.nichibenren.or.jp/en/index.html
- JFTC (Japan Fair Trade Commission) [公正取引委員会] (Kōsei Torihiki Iinkai)
http://www.jftc.go.jp/index.htm
- JICPA (Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants) [日本公認会計士協会] (Nihon Kōnin Kaikeishi Kyōkai)
http://www.hp.jicpa.or.jp/
- JLAA (Japan Legal Aid Association) [法律援助協会] (Hōritsu Enjo Kyōkai)
http://www.jlaa.or.jp/index_e.html
- JPAA (Japan Patent Attorneys Association)
http://www.jpaa.or.jp/english/
- JWRC (Center of Research and Documentation on Japan's War Responsibility) [日本の戦争責任資料センター] (Nihon no Sensō Sekinin Shiryō Sentā)
http://www.jca.apc.org/JWRC/index-j.html
- NCIPI SEE: INPIT (National Center for Industrial Property Information and Training
- OTO (Office of Trade and investment Ombudsman)
Mission (From homepage):
- We receive complaints from overseas and domestic enterprises concerning specific government regulations, which are obstacles to export or investment to Japan.
- In response to the complaints, we improve regulations and clear up any misunderstandings.
- In this way, we improve access to the Japanese market.
http://www5.cao.go.jp/access/english/oto_main_e.html
- PILAJ (Private International Law Association of Japan) [国際私法学会] (Kokusai Shihō Gakkai)
Japanese: http://wwwsoc.nii.ac.jp/pilaj/index.html
English: http://wwwsoc.nii.ac.jp/pilaj/index-e.html
- RCLIP (Research Center for the Legal System of Intellectual Property)
http://www.21coe-win-cls.org/rclip/e_index.html
- SOFTIC (Software Information Center)
http://www.softic.or.jp/en/index.html
- TOLD (Translation Of Legal Documents)
Research group at Nagoya University. The TOLD group is an informal collaboration between legal academics and computer scientists centered in Nagoya University...The group aims to develop support systems for the production and maintenance of English translations of the laws of Asia, including Japan. This archive is an early building block for a translation system envisioned by the TOLD group centered in Nagoya University.
- Collections of Links to Laws in General
Laws in English (By Subject)
(see also Laws In English on the Finding Laws page)
(Selected English translations by the Japanese government's Cabinet Secretariat (内閣官房) available here:
http://www.cas.go.jp/jp/seisaku/hourei/data2.html. Up to 200 laws are to be translated. As or 4/2/2007, 49 laws were available.)
- Automobiles
- Automobile Type Approval Handbook for Japanese Certification (CD ROM)
This CD ROM is commonly called "the Blue Book." It may be purchased at the Japan Automobile Standards Internationalization Center (JASIC) website:
http://www.jasic.org/e/index_e.htm
Includes these English translations of laws (plus additional information):
- Road Vehicle Act (Law no. 185 of 6/1/1951)
道路運送車両法（昭和二十六年六月一日法律第百八十五号）
Dōro Unsō Sharyō Hō (Law No. 185 of Showa Year 26, June 1)
- Road Vehicle Safety Regulations
- Building Standards
- Building Standard Law (Law no. 201 of 1950) = 建築基準法 [Kenchiku kijunhō].
A translation of the above law and related amendments (through November 2005) is available for purchase from the Building Center of Japan (日本建築センター):
http://www.bcj.or.jp/en/03/01_03.html
- Business-related Laws
- Transparency of Japanese Law Project
This Kyushu University-based project provides English translations for many Japanese laws and court decisions in the fields of Corporate Law, Goods and Services Transaction Law, Financing Law, Intellectual Property Law, Insolvency law, Arbitration law, Civil litigation law, and Public International law. According to the website's home page, "The Transparency of Japanese Law Project aims to provide legal information on international transactions in Japan to the overseas community by organizing and translating into English, information which includes: overviews of Japanese law, specific Japanese legislation, doctrines, and case law."
http://www.tomeika.jur.kyushu-u.ac.jp/index.html (Homepage)
http://tomeika.jp/search_law/search.php (Search Screen)
- Mizuho Securities Co., Ltd
(Translations of Several Laws relating to Banking and Securities; Other materials in English relating to these topics and also taxation and the regulation of electronic commerce)
http://www.mizuho-sc.com/english/ebond/law.html
- Fair Trade Commission of Japan
(Translations of several laws relating to fair trade, and some FTC Japan "Guidelines")
http://www.jftc.go.jp/e-page/legislation/index.html
- Japanlaw.co.jp
(Translations of several business related laws)
http://www.japanlaw.co.jp/
- Japan Financial Translations Co.
http://www.jfti.org/
- Civil Code
- Code of Civil Procedure
- Code of Criminal Procedure
- Commercial Arbitration Law
http://www.jcaa.or.jp/e/arbitration-e/kisoku-e/kaiketsu-e/civil.html
- Commercial Code
- Constitution
- Constitutional Law
- Copyright Law
See Intellectual Property Law
- Corporate Law
- Criminal Code
- Domestic Violence
- Law for the Prevention of Spousal Violence and the Protection of Victims (配偶者からの暴力の防止及び被害者の保護に関する法律 [Haigūsha kara no bōryoku no bōshi oyobi haigūsha no hogo ni kansuru hōritsu]) (Law no. 31 of 2001)
http://www.gender.go.jp/dv/sv.pdf
- Earthquakes (Seismic Design Laws)
- Environmental law
- Fair Trade
- Freedom of Information Law
- Intellectual Property Law
- Jury Law
- Lay Assessor Act
裁判員の参加する刑事裁判に関する法律 [Saiban’in no sanka suru keiji saiban ni kansuru hōritsu], Law No. 63 of 2004
Translated in: JAPAN’S QUASI-JURY (SAIBAN-IN) LAW: AN ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE ACT CONCERNING PARTICIPATION OF LAY ASSESSORS IN CRIMINAL TRIALS Kent Anderson and Emma Saint, Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal vol 6, issue 1 (Winter 2005)
http://www.hawaii.edu/aplpj/pdfs/v6.01_Anderson.pdf
- Lawyers and Legal Ethics
- Labor Law
- Ministries Websites [Homepages for Ministries and Independent Government Entities]) (各府省・独立行政法人等のホームページ [Kakushō, Dokuritsu hōjin tō no Hōmupēji])
Each Japanese Government ministry has its own website, which often provide up-to-date legislation relating to the ministry's area. This page (in Japanese) has links to each ministry. Some of the ministries have English pages, with laws translated into English.
http://www.e-gov.go.jp/link/link.html
- Patents
- Penal Code
(See: Criminal Code)
- Police
- Standards and Regulations for the Japanese Market
- Women's Rights
- Abolished and Historical Laws
(See under Legal History)
- General Collections of Laws and Legislation
- 法令データ提供システム (Hōrei dēta teikyō shisutemu)
Japanese Government Website with the full text of all laws.
Screenshot
http://law.e-gov.go.jp/cgi-bin/idxsearch.cgi
- 日本法令索引 (Nihon Hōrei Sakuin)
National Diet Library Statute Databases.
Includes:
現行法令, 廃止法令, 制定法令, 法律案, 条約承認案件, 横断検索
http://hourei.ndl.go.jp/SearchSys/index.jsp
- 衆議院制定法律 (Shugiin Seitei hōritsu [House of Councillors Laws Enacted]) (Full text of laws enacted, listed by legislative session)
http://www.shugiin.go.jp/index.nsf/html/index_housei.htm
- 日本の法令 (Nihon no hōrei) [Japanese Laws] (The TOLD Group)
(See also Nagoya University's English Translation of Japanese Laws Project)
This website contains all the laws available from Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), in a simple format designed to allow transfer of data to various digital platforms with minimal difficulties. The group providing this minimally formatted version of the Japanese laws (see below) plans to regularly download the latest laws from MIC, and to keep an archive of all downloaded laws.
More information from the website's "read more" pages: "The software used to download and generate this archive was written by Frank Bennett, as part of the work of the Translation Of Legal Documents (TOLD) research group at Nagoya University. The TOLD group is an informal collaboration between legal academics and computer scientists centered in Nagoya University...The group aims to develop support systems for the production and maintenance of English translations of the laws of Asia, including Japan. This archive is an early building block for a translation system envisioned by the TOLD group centered in Nagoya University...This archive of Japanese statutes and regulations was automatically generated from data made publicly available by the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC)..."
http://mcguffin.nomolog.nagoya-u.ac.jp/mic_nu_law/
- 法庫 (Hōko)
(Extensive collection of full-text laws; Access to text of laws restricted without paid account, but still useful as an index to laws)
http://www.houko.com/
- 愛大六法 (Aidai roppō) ["Aichi University Legal Search Engine")
http://roppou.aichi-u.ac.jp/
- 中野文庫法律目次 (Nakano Library; Law Table of Contents)
This database covers historic laws from Meiji 30 (1897) to current.
http://www.geocities.jp/nakanolib/hou/hou.htm#%E6%B3%95%E4%BB%A4
- 官報(Kanpō) ([Government Gazette]; Current Issues)
- Laws on Specific Topics
- Court Rules
- 各府省・独立行政法人等のホームページ (Kakufushō, Dokuritsu hōjin tō no Hōmupēji [Homepages for Ministries and Independent Government Entities])
Each Japanese Government ministry has its own website, which often provide up-to-date legislation relating to the ministry's area. This page has links to each ministry.
http://www.e-gov.go.jp/link/link.html
- Fair Trade
- Lawyers and Legal Ethics
- 日弁連のご紹介 [Nichibenren no go shōkai] (Introduction to the Japan Federation of Bar Associations; includes PDF links to the text of laws and rules governing lawyers and their conduct in Japan)
http://www.nichibenren.or.jp/ja/jfba_info/
- Legislation
- Legislative Record
- 国会会議録検索システム [Kokkai kaigiroku kensaku shisutemu] (Search System for the Legislative Record of the Diet)
http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/
- 帝国議会会議録 [Teikoku Gikai kaigiroku] ([Historical] record of the Imperial Legislature)
第88回～第92回（昭和20年9月～昭和22年3月）帝国議会会議録がご利用いただけます (Covers the 88th to 92nd legislature (9/1940-3/1947)
http://teikokugikai-i.ndl.go.jp/
- Legislature (Diet)
- Bills
(Draft Legislation)
Lawyers and Legal Ethics
Legal Aid
Help with legal issues in Japan
- Japan Legal Support Center = 法テラス (日本司法支援センター) [Hō-terasu (Nihon Shihō Shien Sentā)]
This organization was created as a part of Japan's recent judicial reform (司法改革 [shihō kaikaku]). It replaces the Japan Legal Aid Association (法律扶助協会 [Horitsu Fujo Kyōkai].
- Legal Help for US Citizens in Japan
(US Embassy)
- Your Rights in Japan
(Page from the Japan Children's Rights Network)
http://www.crnjapan.com/rights/en/
Legal Citation Format
- Laws
- Cases
- 民事判決原本データベース [Minji hanketsu genbon dētabēsu] (Database of Civil Judgment Files)
(Access restricted to registered researchers; See below.)
Database Provider:
"国際日本文化研究センター" (Nichibunken) [International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Kyoto, Japan]
Database Contents:
"明治初年から明治23年までの民事判決原本の全文画像データベース
登録件数（平成17年3月末調べ）：339,850件"
"Text and images of Civil Judgement Files dating from the early Meiji Period of Japan
Data Count:
399,850 items (As of the end of March 2005)"
Registration:
To Use this resource, users must register with the database provider, the International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken). Users are required to fill out application forms and pay a fee.
Click here to see sample registration forms
Please Note: These are PDF restricted files, provided for your reference only. NO editing or printing of these sample forms is allowed.
To receive forms for your own use, register at the Nichibunken website (see below)
For more information:
http://www.nichibun.ac.jp/graphicversion/dbase/ccdm.html (Japanese)
http://www.nichibun.ac.jp/graphicversion/dbase/ccdm_e.html (English)
- 近代デジタルライブラリー [Kindai dejitaru raiburarī]
(The National Diet Library of Japan's Modern Digital Library)
"国立国会図書館所蔵の明治期刊行図書を閲覧するデータベースです"
http://kindai.ndl.go.jp/img/
This database consists of digital images of Meiji Period (1868-1911) books owned by the National Diet Library. Included are nearly 3000 important law-related titles. One example is the collection of decisions of the highest pre-World War II court, 大審院 [Taishin'in] (The Great Court of Cassation), 大審院刑事判決禄 [Taishin'in keiji hanketsuroku]
(Collection of criminal decisions of the Great Court of Cassation).
Other
Legislative System
-
法制執務コラム集 (参議院法制局) [Hōsei shitsumu koramu-shū] (Legal System Articles Collection (Legislative Bureau, House of Councilors))
(In Japanese)
This continuing series of concise and practical articles on the legislative system discusses a variety of topics, including: how laws are named and organized; are legislators public employees?; the legislative process; tables of contents in laws; law numbers; maps and diagrams within laws; the effort to modernize the language in laws; etc.
http://houseikyoku.sangiin.go.jp/column/index.htm
Libraries at the University of Washington
Libraries (Other)
Listservs (Email Discussion Forums on Japanese Law)
Newsletters
Note: The following online versions of major Japanese dailies provide free access to recent issues only, unless noted otherwise.
- Newspapers in English
- Newspapers In Japanese
- TV News (In Japanese)
Police
Prosecutors
Taxation
Translation Services
Please Note: The services listed below are not endorsed or recommended in any way. They are only listed as a starting point for those in need of Japanese legal translation services.
See also more information on Japanese law translation.
- Organization
- Japanese Specialists
- General Translation Companies
Treaties
(See also Collections of Treaties on the Finding Laws page)
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