In this PPT file, the legal system of Japan has been explained in detail. This is basically for law students.

1. Jerishmita 11908384
A Arvinth 11909090
Rupesh Kumar 11909434
Mehul Bansal 11909440
Anandita Anand 11909447

2. Japan is divided into 47 prefectures (Todōfuken), forming
the first level of jurisdiction and administrative division.
They consist of 43 prefectures (ken) proper, two urban
prefectures (Osaka and Kyoto), one "circuit" or
"territory" (Hokkaido) and one "metropolis" (Tokyo).
Each prefecture's chief executive is a directly-
elected governor (chiji). Ordinances and budgets are
enacted by a unicameral assembly (gikai) whose
members are elected for four-year terms.

3. Kugatachi was a form of divination used in the 8th century to determine the guilt or innocence of
suspected criminals. Suspects were forced to remove a stone from boiling water and the verdict was
decided on whether the suspects hand had blistered or not. In the 10th century a judge ordered a statue of
Jizo, the patron travelers, tied up because he didn't protect kimono merchant who was robbed.
In feudal times, daimyos and shoguns encouraged their subjects to explore all other options of solving
disputes before coming to them. In the Edo period, legal matters were taken care of at Kajiado (litigation
inns). The owners of these inns were the equivalent of lawyers. Mostly they dealt with disputes over money
Of the 35,000 civil suits that were addressed in 1718, about 33,000 of them involved money.
During the Meiji Period (1868-1912) Japan adopted a Civil Code, Commercial Code introduced and
bunch of other laws influenced by laws in Germany and France. In the 1920s and 30s a string of lawsuits
over money prompted the government to pass a series of laws designed for people to seek mediation
rather that judicial action.
Japan had a jury system for 15 years from 1928 to 1943 but it was abolished by Japan's military
government and replaced with a system in which three-judge panels presided over trials which almost
always ended with a conviction and had little input from ordinary citizens.

5. • The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land. The Supreme
Court is vested with the power of judicial review.
• The Supreme Court of Japan is limited to hearing actual disputes
that arise, on appeal.
• The Supreme Court exercises appellate jurisdiction in respect of
appeals and special appeals against a ruling as provided specifically
in the Code of Civil Procedure and the Code of Criminal Procedure.
• In addition, the Supreme Court has original and final jurisdiction in
any proceedings involving the impeachment of National Personnel
Authority Commissioners.

6. The Chief Justice of Japan is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Japan and is the head of the Judicial branch of
the Japanese government.
The Chief Justice is ceremonially appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being nominated by the Cabinet; in
practice, this is following the recommendation of the former Chief Justice. Under the Constitution of Japan, the only
other official appointed by the Emperor is the Prime Minister, emphasizing the status of the Court as independent from
the elected government.
NaotoŌtani
Style: The Honourable
Term length: Life tenure until the mandatory retirement
age of 70
Naoto Ōtani (Ōtani Naoto, born June 23, 1952) is
a Japanese lawyer and is the 19th and current Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court of Japan.

7. Courtroom of the Petty Bench of the Supreme Court

8. High courts are located in eight major cities in Japan: Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya,
Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Sendai, Sapporo, and Takamatsu. Branches― six in all―are
attached to some of the high courts. In addition, in April 2005, the Intellectual Property
High Court was established as a special branch of the Tokyo High Court. Each high court
is composed of one president and several judges.
• In general, the high courts have jurisdiction over appeals against judgments by the
district courts, family courts, and summary courts.
• They also hear appeals against lower-court rulings. The high courts have jurisdiction
over any appeal against a ruling, unless the Codes of Procedure specifically provide
for Supreme Court jurisdiction.
• Incidentally, civil cases and criminal cases differ in terms of appeal proceedings
against a first-instance decision by a summary court; in criminal cases, the appellant
may appeal against the summary court judgment directly to the high court, whereas
in a civil cases, an appeal against a summary court judgment is first filed with the
district court, and later passes to the high court.

9. Three-judge courtroom
(criminal case)
1 Judges
2 Court Clerk
3 Court Stenographer
4 Court Secretary
5 Public Prosecutor
6 Defense Counsel
7 The Accused

10. District courts are located in 50 cities―one in every prefecture except for Hokkaido,
which is divided into four districts―and there are 203 branches throughout the country.
District courts are normally the courts of first instance for both civil and criminal cases,
except for matters specifically coming under the exclusive original jurisdiction of other
types of court. District courts also have jurisdiction over appeals against summary court
decisions and rulings in civil cases.
Usually a single judge presides over the trial in a district court, but in the following
cases, a three-judge panel is required:
① if a panel has directed that a three-judge panel should sit,
② when trying a crime punishable by the death penalty or imprisonment with or without
work the minimum term of which is one year or longer, including life imprisonment, with
some exceptions (e.g. robbery etc.),
③ for appeals against judgments rendered by summary courts or appeals against
summary court rulings and orders, and

11. • Family courts are located at the same places as the district courts and
their branches. In addition, there are 77 local offices at the same
locations as summary courts.
• They have exclusive jurisdiction over cases involving domestic relations
and juvenile delinquency. Some typical examples of family court
jurisdiction are adult guardianship, family court permission to adopt a
child, division of estates and marital relationship issues such as divorce
(e.g. requesting child support, designation of the person with parental
authority, and so on).
• Family courts also deal with juvenile cases. They have jurisdiction over
juveniles aged 14 to 19 who have committed or are likely to commit a
crime, and over persons under 14 years old who have violated or are
likely to violate penal provisions. The measures taken with regard to such
juveniles are not punitive, but rather protective or educational in nature.

12. Juvenile case hearing
1 Judge
2 Court Clerk
3 Family court investigation Officer
4 Court Secretary
5 Juvenile
6 Custodians
7 Attendant

13. • There are 438 summary courts in Japan, and these are the
most accessible to the people.
• Summary courts have jurisdiction over civil cases in which the
disputed sum does not exceed 1,400,000 yen, and over criminal
matters punishable by fines or lighter punishment and certain
statutory crimes such as theft and embezzlement.
• Summary courts are not vested with the power to impose a term
of imprisonment without work or harsher punishment. However,
imprisonment with work for not more than three years may be
imposed as specially permitted under the law.

14. Consultation center in a Summary Court

15. The Penal system of Japan is operated by the Ministry of Justice. It is part
of the criminal justice system, and is intended to resocialize, reform,
and rehabilitate offenders. The ministry's Correctional Bureau administers
the adult prison system, the juvenile correctional system, and three of the
women's guidance homes, while the Rehabilitation Bureau operates
the probation and the parole systems.

16. The rule of law is a value that has been deeply held in Japan for over a hundred
years , particularly among the legal profession . It is seen as an essential part of the
democratic order . The broader consensus of the Japanese people , along with the
assent of the courts and bureaucracy , is required
 The rule of law is fundamental to Japan's (written) legal system.
 In addition to the written or “formal” law , there is body of disparate unwritten extra-judicial norms or
“living” law .
 Living law includes those long- standing practices , customs and informal social norms representatives of
Japan’s indigenous legal tradition.
 It is the operation and practical application of living law by government authorities , the courts and
Japanese citizens alike, which creates a gap between the laws as it is written and the way that it is practiced
and enforced on a day to day basis .
 The marriage between indigenous law on the one hand and Japan’s received law and western derived
jurisprudence on the other , is in many ways uneasy.

17.  In short, the use of rule of law as an apparatus of evaluation denies the importance and influence of the
distinctly non-western environment within which Japan’s current legal system operates.
 Two examples:
1. Administrative guidance.
2.Japanese criminal procedure and the Rights of the accused.

18. Separation of Powers

19. Executive
Prime
Minister
The Cabinet
Ministries
Legislative
House of
Representatives
House of
Councilors
Judicial
Supreme Court
High court
Penal System

20. THE EMPEROR
 The Emperor of Japan is the head of the Imperial Family and the ceremonial head of state. He is
defined by the Constitution to be "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people“.
 Article 6 of the Constitution of Japan delegates the Emperor the following ceremonial roles:
1. Appointment of the Prime Minister as designated by the Diet.
2. Appointment of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as designated by the Cabinet.

21. The powers exercised via the Emperor, as stipulated
by Article 7 of the Constitution, are:
 Amendments of the constitution, laws, cabinet orders
and treaties.
 Convocation of the Diet.
 Dissolution of the House of Representatives.
 Receiving foreign ambassadors and ministers.
 Performance of ceremonial functions.
Naruhito
Since 1
May 2019

22. THREE IMPORTANT INDEPENDENT
ORGANS — THE DIET, THE CABINET, AND
THE JUDICIARY

23. EXECUTIVE
 Prime Minister:- It is designated by the National Diet and serves a term of four years or less; with no
limits imposed on the number of terms the Prime Minister may hold.
 Ministries:- It consist of eleven ministries and the Cabinet Officer. Each ministry is headed by a Minister
of State, which are mainly senior legislators, and are appointed from among the members of the Cabinet
by the Prime Minister.
 The Cabinet:- The members of the Cabinet are appointed by the Prime Minister, and under the
Cabinet Law, the number of members of the Cabinet appointed must be fourteen or less, but may
only be increased to nineteen should a special need arise. Article 73 of the Constitution of
Japan expects the Cabinet to perform the following functions:-
1. Prepare the budget, and present it to the Diet.
2. Manage foreign affairs.
3. Administer the civil service, in accordance with standards established by law.
4. conduct affairs of state.

24.  Shinzō Abe
 The current Prime Minister is Shinzō Abe, who re-took office on December 26, 2012.

25. LEGISLATIVE
 House of Representatives:- It is the Lower house, with the members of the
house being elected once every four years, or when dissolved, for a four-year
term. It is the more powerful house. it has 465 members. Of these, 176 members
are elected from 11 multi-member constituencies by a party-list system
of proportional representation, and 289 are elected from single-member
constituencies. 233 seats are required for majority.
 House of Councilors:- it is the Upper house, with half the members of the
house being elected once every three years, for a six-year term. It has 242
members. Of these, 73 are elected from the 47 prefectural districts, by single
non-transferable votes, and 48 are elected from a nationwide open lists.

26. JUDICIAL
 It consists of the Supreme Court and four other lower courts; the High Courts, District
Courts, Family Courts and Summary Courts. Divided into four basic tiers, the Court's
independence from the executive and legislative. Court judges are removable only by
public impeachment, and can only be removed, without impeachment, when they are
judicially declared mentally or physically incompetent to perform their duties.