The Daini Tokyo Bar Association was founded in March 1926, at the end of the Taisho Era (1912-1926), approximately 60 years after the end of Japan's Samurai period (the Edo Shogunate).
At the time, there were already two bar associations in Tokyo, but there was concern that their activities as lawyers may not meet the needs of their clients because of internecine power struggles between themselves . Eventually 178 lawyers, mostly young, established the Daini Tokyo Bar Association in response to these concerns.
With a spirit of freedom and open-mindedness, and with the purpose of reaching out to and supporting those in need, the Daini Tokyo Bar Association has achieved many legal "firsts" in Japan over the past 100 years.The name "Daini" should not be translated as the "number two" lawyers` association, rather it symbolizes our spirit of freedom, openness, and willingness to take on challenges.
For the next 100 years and beyond, the Daini Tokyo Bar Association will continue to seek out ways to serve those in need and endeavour to achieve more legal firsts in Japan.

The Daini Tokyo Bar Association, also known as Niben, will commemorate its 100-year anniversary on March 30, 2026. Our predecessors of each generation worked extremely hard to win the trust of the community and society, overcame great difficulties, and conducted themselves with integrity to earn every kernel of reliability that Niben enjoys today. And I believe it was those efforts which have made it possible for Niben to be successful in reaching its 100-year anniversary.
In line with the phrase, "Be the first to take the first step," Niben is also known as Pioneering Niben . This bar association overflows with a frontier spirit and is embedded with a free and open-minded culture of taking on new challenges. The society around us continues to change. And while we promptly adapt to those changes, we will also continue to maintain a high standard of ideals, such as advocating for human rights, actualizing social justice, and standing for peace. In doing so, we will steadily deploy related actions and maintain an array of activities that aim for the next 100-year mark and link to the next generation.
Moving forward into the future, Niben will keep tackling a variety of issues and always be the first to act.

On March 30, 2026, the Daini Tokyo Bar Association ("Niben") will commemorate its 100th anniversary.
Niben has contributed greatly to the realization of social justice and the protection of human rights in the country through the three modern Japanese eras of Showa, Heisei and Reiwa. In particular, Niben has played a leading role in new fields of law not only in Tokyo but throughout Japan, and is recognized within the industry as a "pioneer" for these achievements.
Why has Niben been able to remain a pioneer from its founding to the present?
As societies evolve, laws and systems can become lacking or inadequate to the changing needs of people. I believe the key point is that Niben has from its inception acted as a catalyst to improve such situations, rather than accepting them as the status quo.
The establishment of the Arbitration Center, measures to address lawyer shortages , promoting women’s participation in the legal profession, and the improvement of the law school system are just a few examples of this spirit.
We must look to the next 100 years for Niben while respecting the great achievements of our members who came before us. Niben has grown into a diverse association of over 7,000 legal professionals, and in order to continue to play a leading role as a "pioneer", all of us should consider deeply the reasons why its existence is necessary to the people and continue to respond to their changing demands.
The 100th anniversary of Niben's founding provides an excellent opportunity to reflect on this issue.