- About us
-
Activities
- Protection of Human Rights
- Reform of the Judicial System
- Reform of the Criminal Justice System
- Training of Legal Professionals
- Expanding the Scope of Attorneys’ Activities
- Elimination of Shortages/Uneven Distribution of Attorneys
- Support Activities to Remedy the Violation of Rights
- Legal Aid/Assistance Projects
- International Activities
- Our activities relating to Business and Human Rights
- Major Meetings/Events
- The Japanese Judicial System
- Publications
White Paper on Attorneys 2017
Contents
Feature:
Present Status and Challenges Relating to the Use of Information Technology (IT)
in the Work of Attorneys ... 1
Chapter 1 Actual Situation of the Use of IT in the Work of Attorneys ... 1
| 1.1 | Results of Questionnaire Concerning the Use of IT in the Work of Attorneys | . | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1.1. IT Tools Used in the Work of Attorneys | . | 1 | |
| 1.1.2. Security Measures for IT Work of Attorneys | . | 2 | |
| 1.1.3. Storage Locations of Data Used in the Work of Attorneys | . | 2 | |
| 1.1.4. Methods of Exchanging Printed Materials etc. with Clients | . | 3 | |
| 1.1.5 Methods of Exchanging Electronic Data with Clients | . | 3 | |
| 1.1.6 Password Setting to Electronic Data | . | 4 | |
| 1.1.7 Service that Attorneys Want to Use | . | 4 | |
| 1.2 | Information Security Measures in the Work of Attorneys – from the Questionnaire Results Concerning Information Security | . | 5 |
| 1.2.1. Security Trouble Encountered in the Use of Equipment in the Work of Attorneys | . | 5 | |
| 1.2.2 Security Measures at Law Offices | . | 5 |
Chapter 2 Initiatives of the JFBA ... 6
| 2.1 | Initiatives Taken by the JFBA Committee on Legal Practice Issues | . | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.2 | Web Services Provided on the JFBA Website | . | 6 |
| 2.2.1. Himawari Legal Consultation Network | . | 6 | |
| 2.2.2. Himawari Job Opening/Seeking Navigation | . | 6 | |
| 2.2.3. Search for Information on Attorneys and Legal Professional Corporations | . | 6 | |
| 2.2.4. Himawari Search | . | 6 |
Chapter 3 The Way Forward ... 7
| 3.1 |
"The Investments for the Future Strategy 2017 - Reform Aiming at Achievement of Society 5.0" (the cabinet decision made on June 9, 2017) |
. | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.2 | The Way Forward | . | 7 |
Part 1
Current Situation of Attorneys and Other Legal Professions ... 8
Chapter 1 Population of Attorneys ... 8
| 1.1 | The Japan Federation of Bar Associations and the Number of Attorneys | . | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.2 | Constitution According to Age | . | 10 |
Chapter 2 The Number of Populations relating to Legal Professionals ... 11
| 2.1 | The Status of the Number of Applicants for Law Schools and Enrollment of People | . | 11 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.2 | The Status of Successful Bar Examination Candidates | . | 12 |
| 2.2.1 Pass Rate of Bar Examination | . | 12 | |
| 2.2.2 Situation Surrounding the Preliminary Examination for the Bar Examination | . | 14 | |
| 2.3 | The Number of Legal Apprentices who Have Completed Legal Training per Chosen Profession | . | 15 |
| 2.4 | The Number of Judges, Prosecutors, and Attorneys | . | 17 |
| 2.5 | Comparison of the Total Number of Lawyers, Judges, and Public Prosecutors with those of Foreign Countries | . | 18 |
| 2.5.1 The Number of People per Lawyer (Cross-country Comparison) | . | 18 | |
| 2.5.2 The Number of People per Judge (Cross-country Comparison) | . | 18 | |
| 2.5.3 The Number of People per Public Prosecutor (Cross-country Comparison) | . | 19 | |
| 2.5.4 The Number of People per Legal Professional (Cross-country Comparison) | . | 20 | |
| 2.6 | Changes in Populations of Other Legal Professions | . | 23 |
Chapter 3 Mergers of Law Offices and the Current Situation of Legal Professional Corporations ... 24
| 3.1 | The Number of Attorneys in Law Offices | . | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.2 | Current Situation of Legal Professional Corporations | . | 26 |
| 3.2.1 The Number of Legal Professional Corporations | . | 26 | |
| 3.2.2 Size of Legal Professional Corporations | . | 28 |
Chapter 4 Current Situation of Gaikokuho-Jimu-Bengoshi ("Registered Foreign Lawyers") ... 29
| 4.1 | Changes in the Number of Gaikokuho-Jimu-Bengoshi | . | 29 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.2 | Registration of Gaikokuho-Jimu-Bengoshi (Registered Foreign Lawyers) | . | 30 |
| 4.3 | Situations regarding Alliances with Foreign Law Joint Enterprises | . | 31 |
| 4.4 | Situation regarding Registered Foreign Lawyer Corporations (Gaikokuho-Jimu-Bengoshi-Hojin) | . | 32 |
| 4.5 | The Number of Foreign Lawyers Employed by Attorneys and Legal Professional Corporations | . | 33 |
| 4.5.1 By Nationality | . | 33 | |
| 4.5.2 By Home Jurisdiction | . | 33 | |
| 4.6 | World Law Firms and Their Entry into the Japanese Market | . | 35 |
Part 2
Activities of Attorneys ... 36
Chapter 1 Criminal Advocacy Activities ... 36
| 1.1 | Duty Attorney (Toban Bengoshi) and Court-Appointed Attorney Systems for Suspects | . | 36 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1.1 Outline of Duty Attorney (Toban Bengoshi) and Court-Appointed Attorney System for Suspects | . | 36 | |
| 1.1.2 Current Situation of the Duty Attorney (Toban Bengoshi) System | . | 36 | |
| 1.1.3 Changes in the Number of Duty Attorney Requested Cases, Appointed Cases, and Criminal Suspect Defense Aid Cases | . | 38 | |
| 1.1.4 Public Defense System Available Prior to Indictment | . | 39 | |
| 1.2 | The Status of Defense Attorneys Involvement in the Overall Criminal Cases | . | 41 |
| 1.2.1 The Status of Court-Appointed Attorney Contracts and the Number of Defendants with Court-Appointed Attorneys | . | 41 | |
| 1.2.2 Changes in the Percentage of Retaining Criminal Defense Counsel (after Indictment) (Court-Appointed and Privately Retained) at District Courts | . | 41 | |
| 1.2.3 Changes in the Percentage of Retaining Criminal Defense Counsel (after Indictment) (Court-Appointed and Privately Retained) at Summary Courts | . | 42 | |
| 1.2.4 Changes in the Percentage of Defendants Retaining Criminal Defense Counsel (after Indictment) (Court-Appointed and Privately Retained) at High Courts | . | 42 | |
| 1.3 | Defense Activities in Juvenile Cases | . | 43 |
| 1.4 | The Lay Judge System | . | 45 |
| 1.4.1 Cases Determined by Lay Judges | . | 45 | |
| 1.4.2 Actual Practice of Lay Judge Trials | . | 47 |
Chapter 2 Activities in Civil and Other Lawsuits ... 50
| 2.1 | Civil Lawsuits | . | 50 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1.1 Attorneys’ Involvement in Ordinary Civil Lawsuits before District Courtsurts | . | 50 | |
| 2.1.2 Attorneys’ Involvement in Ordinary Civil Lawsuits before Summary Courtsrts | . | 51 | |
| 2.1.3 Changes in the Percentage of Appointed Attorneys in Ordinary Second Instance Trials (before High Courts) | . | 52 | |
| 2.2 | Supporting Activities for Criminal Victims | . | 53 |
| 2.3 | JFBA Support Activities for Affected People in Relation to the Great East Japan Earthquake | . | 54 |
| 2.3.1 Recommendations, etc. the JFBA has Issued and Legislation and Systems Realized | . | 54 |
Chapter 3 Expansion of Attorneys’ Activities ... 56
| 3.1 | Current Situation of In-house Attorneys | . | 56 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1.1 Changes in the Number of In-house Attorneys | . | 56 | |
| 3.1.2 Situation of Public Officers with Fixed Terms | . | 57 | |
| 3.2 | Diet Members and Head of Local Governments Registered as Attorneys | . | 59 |
Part 3
Activities of the JFBA and Local Bar Associations ... 60
Chapter 1 Autonomy of Attorneys ... 60
| 1.1 | Complaints and Dispute Conciliations | . | 60 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1.1 Complaints against Attorneys | . | 60 | |
| 1.1.2 Dispute Conciliation | . | 61 |
| 1.2 | Disciplinary System for Attorneys and its Operation | . | 62 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.2.1 Summary of the Disciplinary System for Attorneys | . | 62 | |
| 1.2.2 Statistics Regarding Disciplinary Actions | . | 65 | |
| 1.2.3 Operation of the Disciplinary System | . | 68 | |
| 1.2.4 The Flow and Current Situation of Disciplinary Procedure | . | 71 |
Chapter 2 The JFBA's Activities involving Human Rights Redress ... 72
| 2.1 | The Operation of the Human Rights Redress System | . | 72 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1.1 Procedures for Human Rights Redress System | . | 72 | |
| 2.2 | Current Situation Regarding the Retrial Cases Supported by the JFBA | . | 75 |
| 2.2.1 Retrial Cases Supported by the JFBA | . | 75 | |
| 2.2.2 Achievement by the JFBA for its Support on Retrial Request Cases | . | 75 |
Chapter 3 International Activities of the JFBA ... 78
| 3.1 | International Human Rights Activities | . | 79 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1.1. Activities at the United Nations (UN) and International Conferences | . | 79 | |
| 3.1.2. Activities Related to the UN Human Rights Bodies and the UPR | . | 80 | |
| 3.2 | International Cooperation | . | 81 |
|
3.2.1. Past and Current JFBA Assistance Projects for Bar Associations in Developing Countries (by Country) |
. | 81 | |
| 3.2.2. JICA Long-Term Experts Achievement | . | 83 | |
| 3.3 | International Exchange Activities | . | 85 |
| 3.3.1. Membership of International Organization | . | 85 | |
| 3.3.2. MOUs between the JFBA and Overseas Bar Organizations | . | 85 | |
| 3.3.3. MOUs between Local Bar Associations and Overseas Bar Organizations | . | 85 | |
| 3.4 | Overseas Visiting Fellow Program | . | 87 |
| 3.4.1 JFBA Overseas Visiting Fellow Program | . | 87 | |
| 3.4.2 Past Overseas Visiting Fellows | . | 87 | |
| 3.5 | Support for Career Development in International Public Service | . | 88 |
| 3.5.1. Implementation of Various Seminars and Events | . | 88 | |
| 3.5.2. Support System for Career Development in International Public Service | . | 89 | |
|
3.5.3 Implementation of Judicial Apprentice Training and Internships at the Offices of International Organizations in Japan |
. | 89 | |
| 3.6 | Promotion of International Practice by Attorneys | . | 89 |
| 3.6.1 JFBA’s Activities to Promote International Practice by Attorneys | . | 89 | |
|
3.6.2 Attorney Referral System for Japanese SMEs going Overseas and its Partner Organization Accreditation System |
. | 90 |
Part 4
Comprehensive Legal Support ... 91
Chapter 1 Japan Legal Support Center (Ho-terasu) ... 91
| 1.1 | Scope of Operations of Ho-terasu | . | 91 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.2 | Support Operations Entrusted by the JFBA | . | 92 |