The Introduction of Law
School in Japan
Shigenori Matsui
University of British Columbia,
Faculty of Law
June 22, 2007
06/22/2007
1
Introduction
Legal education in Japan was provided in
the past at the undergraduate level.
 In 2004, however, new law school system
was introduced.
 What was the background for this
introduction of new law school? How
different is this new law school system?
Was the introduction of new law school
system a success or a failure?

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2
1.Traditional Legal Education in Japan

Traditional Legal Education





Legal education was provided at the
undergraduate level in the past.
There are 93 law faculties and roughly 45,000
students entered law faculties every year.
Four-year course.
Focus was placed on learning six codes.
Main teaching method was lecturing.
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
The most important characteristic of
traditional legal education in Japan was
separation between university legal
education and professional practical
training.

Those who wanted to become lawyers must
pass the National Bar Examination.
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
Traditional Bar Examination


The first examination to test the liberal arts
knowledge. Those who have finished liberal
arts course in the University are exempted
from this first examination.
The second, law examination consists of
multiple-choice examination, essay
examination, and oral examination.
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


Those who passed the National Bar Examination
must enroll at the Judicial Training and Research
Institute (Institute) administered by the Supreme
Court of Japan for practical training.
Practical training at the Institute consisted of 4
month class works, 16 months field training at
civil department of district court, criminal
department of district court, prosecutors’ office
and law firms, and 4 months class training.
Those who successfully completed all practical
training can take the final examination and whose
who pass this examination could become judges,
prosecutors, or attorneys.
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
Rigorousness of the National Bar Examination




Only 500 out of 20,000 to 30,000 applicants could
pass the examination.
The average age for passing the examination was 28.
The passing rate was less than 2%.
Large number of law students do not become
lawyers. They rather become civil servants or
company workers. The legal education at law
faculty was not designed either to provide legal
education to students who want to become
lawyers or to provide professional legal
education.
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
Problems in Traditional Legal Education

The focus of legal education was obscure.



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Too basic for students who want to challenge the
National Bar Examination.
Too complicated for students who want to become
civil servants or company workers.
Too boring for students who entered law faculty
believing that the law faculty is the best faculty to
seek employment.
8

The traditional legal education system
could produce very small number of
lawyers.


The total number of attorneys in Japan was
13,800 in 1990, 15,108 in 1995, and 21,185 in
2005.
Although the number of persons who pass the
examination was gradually increased, the
number of lawyers remained very small.


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1991 600
1998 900
1993 700
1999 1,000
9

International Comparison (1997)

Country






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Japan
United States
United Kingdom
Germany
France
number
of lawyers
20,000
941,000
83,000
111,000
36,000
population number of
ratio
new lawyers
6,300
700
290
57,000
710
4,900
740
9,800
1,640
2,400
10

There was no institution to provide
professional legal education.



Legal education at university law faculty was
not designed to provide professional legal
education.
Practical training at the Institute was
apprenticeship premised upon the assumption
that those who passed the examination
already had necessary legal skills.
Absence of opportunity to learn basic legal
skills.
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
Influence of cram school.


Because of the rigorousness of the National
Bar Examination, and because the university
law faculty cannot provide education necessary
to pass the Examination, many law students
went to cram school to prepare for the
Examination.
There are significant shortfalls in the cram
school education.
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2. Introduction of Law School System

The Road to the Introduction



There was a concern as to the rigorousness of
the National Bar Examination.
Yet, the small number of lawyers in Japan was
praised as a virtue of the Japanese society,
especially in 1980s, when Japan’s economy
was so strong.
In 1990s, however, the increasing number of
people came to call for judicial reform and for
increase of number of lawyers.
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
The business associations called for the
strengthening of judicial system and for
the increase of number of lawyers.



Economists’ Fellowship Association 1994
The Federation of Economic Organizations
1997
The Liberal Democratic Party 1998
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
The Diet passed the Act to Establish the
Council for Judicial Reform (Council) to
advise on judicial reform.


An interim report in 2,000
The final report in 2001


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Proposed the establishment of law schools and the
introduction of new bar examination system.
To increase the number of new lawyers to 3,000 in
2010 and to target to increase the total number of
lawyers to 50,000 by 2018
15





In 2002, the Diet passed necessary legislation for
the introduction of law school.
In 2003, the Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science, and Technology (Mext) published
standard for establishing professional graduate
school including law school.
Granted approval to 68 law schools for 2004.
On April 1, 2004, 68 law schools started
operation admitting 5,767 students.
Currently, there are 74 law schools, accepting
5,825 students.
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
The background for the introduction of law
school





Burst of bubble economy in 1990s
The call for administrative reform and
deregulation
The necessity of strengthening the judiciary
The need for increased number of lawyers
Many Japanese companies faced negotiations
and legal fights with foreign companies,
especially American companies, and felt the
necessity of lawyers to cope with American
lawyers.
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
Supporting Views




There are wide support for the introduction of law school
as a professional graduate school.
There are need to provide professional legal education
and to make sure most of the law school students (at
least 80 to 85%) can pass the bar examination.
Yet, there was disagreement as to whether the
undergraduate legal education should be kept or it
should be converted into liberal arts education.
There was also disagreement as to whether the Institute
should be abolished.
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
Opposing Views




There are doubt as to the necessity of
increasing the number of lawyers.
Introduction of law school system was
criticized as totally distorting the openness of
the National Bar Examination.
There are wide support for undergraduate legal
education. Many doubted whether introduction
of American style graduate law school is
necessary.
There are also fear that the Mext fully controls
the legal education in law schools.
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
A Compromise Was Reached


The law school system was introduced based on the
compromise between those different opinions.
The law school should be established as a professional
graduate school. The regular course should be threeyear course and the graduates of law school are eligible
to take new bar examination. The current bar
examination should be continued until 2010. After 2011,
it is only graduates of law school that are eligible to take
the new bar examination, but there should be bypass
procedure which would enable those who could not enter
law school to take the new bar examination.
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


The undergraduate legal education at law
faculty should be kept. Since it would be likely
that many of the students who enter law
school would be graduates of law faculty, the
law school should be allowed to have
expedited two-year course for those students
who have basic knowledge in law.
The Institute should be kept and those who
pass the new bar examination should enroll at
the Institute for one-year practical training.
Those who successfully completed the practical
training at the Institute should become judges,
prosecutors, and attorneys.
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3. Current Law School System

The purpose of law school




Law school was established as a professional graduate
school.
The purpose of law school is to provide professional legal
education as a process.
Graduates of law school should be granted J.D. degree.
The regular course of law school should be three-year
course, and law students are supposed to acquire more
than 93 credit for graduation. But law school is allowed
to exempt up to 30 credits to those students who had
basic knowledge in law before entering law school and
create expedited two-year course.
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
Admission should be based on principles of
fairness, openness and diversity.




Law school must establish admission policy based on
principles of fairness, openness and diversity.
No examination on legal subjects should be imposed for
three-year course students. Yet, law school can impose
examination on legal knowledge for two-year course
students.
All applicants must take the Law School Aptitude Test.
Law school must admit certain number of students who
had social experience.
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
Faculty



The minimum number of permanent faculty
members of law school should be 12 and the
maximum ratio between one faculty member
to law students should be 15.
One third of permanent faculty members could
be counted as permanent faculty members of
other department during first ten years.
At least 20% of faculty members should be
practitioners who have more than five years of
experience.
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
Curriculum

Curriculum of law school is divided into the
following subjects:






Basic legal subjects
Basic practical subjects
Legal theory and related subjects
Advanced subjects
Education of law school should be conducted in
small classes. Maximum class size should be
50 for basic legal subjects.
Teaching method should be interactive and
multi-dimensional.
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
The number of students law school accepts
varies.

Largest law schools


Other Large Law Schools



Tokyo University Law School, Waseda University Law
School, and Chuo University Law School accept 300
student per year.
Keio University Law School accepts 260 students and Kyoto
University Law School and Meiji University Law School
accept 200
Many law schools accept 50 to 60 students.
The smallest law schools accept only 30 students.
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
There are two different types of
admission.

Some law schools divide the number of
students for three-year course and two-year
course and impose different examinations

Some law schools admit students into threeyear course and then, upon different
examination, exempt first year and make it
two-year course.
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
The ratio of three-year course students
and two-year course students varies.




Tokyo University accepts 200 two-year course
students while accepting only 100 three-year
students.
Many law schools accept more two-year course
students than three-year course students.
Waseda University Law School admitted 312
students in 2004 and two-year course students
were only 27.
Omiya Law School accepts only 100 three-year
course students.
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
For 2004, 68 law schools opened their
doors to 5,590 students. The total of
72,800 applied for admission and 5,767
were admitted. The passing rate was
7.8%. Three-year course students were
2,350 and two-year course students were
3,417. 3,884 of all students admitted,
65%,were graduates of law faculty. 2,792
of all students admitted, 48.4%, had
social experience.
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
For 2005, 74 law schools accepted 5,825
students. The total number of applicants
was 41,756 and 5,544 were admitted. The
passing rate was 12%. Three-year course
students were 2,063 and two-year course
students were 3,481. 3,884 of all students
admitted, 70.1%, were graduates of law
faculties. 2,091 of all students admitted,
37.7%, had social experience.
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
New Bar Examination




Those who successfully graduated from law
school are eligible to take new bar
examination.
They can take an examination only three times
within five years after graduation.
New bar examination consists of multiplechoice examination and essay examination.
Public law, civil law, and criminal law are
required subjects. The applicant must also
select one of the selective subjects.
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
Practical training at the Institute

Those who successfully pass the new bar
examination must enroll at the Institute for
one-year practical training.




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8 months field training at the civil department of
district court, criminal department of district court,
prosecutors’ office and law firms
2 months for selective practical training.
2 months for collective supplementary class study.
Those who successfully finished all practical training
can take the final examination. Those who pass this
final examination can graduate the Institute to
become judges, prosecutors, or attorneys.
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4. Preliminary Evaluation and Future
Agenda

Contribution of Law School



Introduction of law school system contributed
to the provision of professional legal education
to lawyers.
It has also contributed to the increase of
number of lawyers.
It has also contributed to the increase of
lawyers who have wider knowledge other than
law.
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
Problem of arbitrary cap on the number of
lawyers to be admitted





The most important problem facing law school system is
the fact that the number of persons who could pass the
new bar examination was already decided by the
Government and is not going to be decided by the
market.
900 to 1,000 for 2006 and 3,000 in 2010.
Hardly a sufficient number to catch up the target.
The existence of the Institute serves to limit the number
of persons who could pass the examination.
Despite the fact that bar examination is to judge the
qualification, the number of persons who could pass the
examination is decided by the limits of the Institute.
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
The result of the first new bar examination
in 2006. 1,009 have passed the
examination out of 2,137 applicants. The
passing rate was 48%.


Despite the initial supposition that 80% to
85% of law school students should be able to
pass the examination, the actual result was
lower than expectation. It is speculated that
the passing rate for the 2007 examination
would be less than 30%.
Some law schools did not have any successful
students.
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
“American-style” law school transformed into
Japanese-style



70% of all law school students are graduates of law
faculty. Many of them enter law school as two-year
course students and must finish law school in two years.
They do not have any professional legal education
before entering law school and it is doubtful whether
they can acquire necessary legal skills in two years.
30% of law school students do not have any knowledge
in law before entering law school and learn law in the
first year to catch up with law faculty graduates who
have four years of legal education. Law schools tend to
offer them theoretical education during the first year
and prefer lecturing style in large classes.
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


Many law schools tend to start case method
only in the second year of three-year course
and in the first year of two-year course.
It is doubtful whether introduction of case
method in this stage works to give sufficient
legal skills.
Many of the law professors in Japan were
trained in Germany and in France and they are
not used to Socratic method. Many thus tend
to keep lecturing style.
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
Law schools in Japan do not offer
opportunity to learn legal practice.



Course to educate legal research, writing, and
advocacy were limited.
No summer jobs
Externship or lawyering course is also limited.
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
Effects of low passing rate of new bar
examination



It chills the future applicants to law schools.
Some of law schools will have extreme
difficulty of attracting applicants and may face
shutting down.
Law school students are focused on just
passing bar examination. They tend to focus
on subjects of the bar examination and tend to
neglect the practical subjects or advanced
subjects. Moreover, they tend to focus on
answering examination questions.
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
The future of law school in Japan




The need to increase the number of persons
who could pass the new bar examination. At
least 85% of all graduates of law schools
should pass the examination.
The need to abolish the Institute or to increase
the number of persons who could be accepted
at the Institute.
The need to abolish undergraduate legal
education.
The need to limit the bypass procedure.
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Conclusion




Maybe too early to say whether the introduction
of law school in Japan was a success or a failure.
It surely contributed a lot to provision of
professional legal education.
Yet, unless the number of persons who could
pass the new bar examination is radically
increased, the prospect of law school in Japan is
not bright.
Need to watch closely the further development.
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