Academic literature on the topic 'Administrative law – Japan'

This article examines issues regarding the administrative enforcement system of the Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI) in Japan. The former APPI (established in 2003) provided two regulatory mechanisms for the administrative enforcement system: (1) self-regulation business operators or accredited personal information protection organizations and (2) indirect penalty based on violations of orders. Moreover, the Amendment Act in 2015 improved the system for securing obligations, such as the establishment of the Personal Information Protection Committee (PPC), the enhancement of regulatory authority, and the implementation of a co-regulation system. However, it is pointed out that these mechanisms might still not be sufficient as a system for securing obligations because of the limited authority of PPC, the validation of the co-regulation system, and the malfunction of an indirect penalty system. This article outlines the history of the APPI focused on the administrative enforcement system and examines improvement measures and further amendments such as the introduction of the administrative monetary penalty system.

In the 1960's environmental pollution began to pose a serious problem in Japan. To cope with the situation, the Basic Law for Environmental Pollution Control and other related laws and regulations were legislated. In 1970 in particular, a Central Headquarters for Environmental Pollution Control (headed by the Prime Minister) was established as the center of environmental pollution control administration, and 14 Pollution related laws including an amendment to the Basic Law for Environmental Pollution Control were enacted by the so-called environmental pollution control session of the Diet at the end of that year. Along with the legislation of the related laws and regulations, the Environment Agency was inaugurated on July 1, 1971 in order to obtain comprehensiveness and unity in environmental administration. The agency took over and coordinated the administrative measures on the prevention of environmental pollution and the conservation of nature, which had previously been handled by various related ministries and agencies, and has been furthering these measures comprehensively.

AbstractThe legal- and law-related-services market is undergoing significant transformation: it is being expanded and becoming highly competitive, affected by the cultural and economic diversification of the current world society. In Japan, another aspect must be considered in order to clearly understand this transformation. In addition to fully qualified legal professionals, or bengoshi, there are many different certified law-related practitioners such as shihō shoshi (judicial scriveners), gyōsei shoshi (administrative scriveners), zeirishi (certified public tax attorneys), benrishi (patent attorneys), sharōshi (labour and social-security attorneys), and others who are also important actors in the legal- and law-related-services market. These certified law-related practitioners take on important roles not only in services related to civil and administrative law, but also in corporate legal matters in the specialized fields of the business activities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Japan. Traditionally, bengoshi and other certified law-related practitioners have shared the legal-services market symbiotically, without competition. However, the situation has gradually changed since around the 1990s. In this paper, the factors of the transformation of the Japanese legal- and law-related-services market are discussed based on empirical data, and the direction of the transformation in this market is indicated.

The issues of criteria for the nullity of administrative acts are considered, the ratio of an illegal and invalid act, as well as a null and void act, analyzed, the possibility of administrative discretion in determining an invalid administrative act is analyzed, the role of vague legal concepts when an administrative act is declared invalid is demonstrated. The Author uses a comparative legal method, including the analysis of the practice of Germany, Great Britain, South Africa, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Russia and other countries. Special attention is paid to the laws on administrative procedures adopted in the post-Soviet territory and the influence of the German doctrine on this process. It is concluded that for the continental legal order the most preferable way to formalize the criteria for the invalidity of an administrative act are laws on administrative procedures or their analogs, while in the common law states, legal doctrine and judicial practice are of great importance. At the same time, many countries avoid recognizing acts as null and void, preferring the construction of their voidability. This is related to ensuring the stability of public administration, the predictability of administrative activities, and the protection of legitimate expectations. In any case, the theory of the reality of the administrative act is prevailing, and nullity is rather viewed as an anomaly. Therefore, only acts that are adopted with the most significant violations, which do not allow talking about the fair consequences of their adoption, are considered invalid. The illegality of an act does not automatically entail its nullity. A similar trend can be traced in Russia, although individual norms of law and practice of courts indicate the possible formation of a doctrine of the invalidity of an administrative act in the Russian legal system. Insignificant acts do not give rise to consequences from the moment of their adoption, legally they do not exist, and nothing can generate anything. With this approach, the courts only fix the criterion of invalidity without a dispute about law. Insignificant acts should be distinguished from contested ones, the latter may turn out to be illegal, but for a number of reasons (for example, protection of trust) the fact of their existence is confirmed along with their consequences.

In this dispute settlement action in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the complainant European Communities (EC) challenged the 1986 Japan-U.S. Arrangement on Semiconductor Trade (Arrangement). The panel of three experts found that (1) export regulations that prevent or quantitatively restrict exports below a minimum price level are inconsistent with GATT Article XI; (2) a complex of Japanese government measures including non-legally binding administrative guidance to prevent semiconductor exports below cost were such export restrictions and, hence, inconsistent with GATT Article XI; (3) the GATT’s provisions on dumping in Article VI neither justify nor forbid such restraints by exporting countries; and (4) the evidence did not show that Japanese actions to improve market access for foreign semiconductors had discriminated in favor of U.S. products.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of History, 2007.
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-10, Section: A, page: 4432. Adviser: Richard Rubinger. Title from dissertation home page (viewed May 19, 2008).

Qu'est-ce que la prudence du juge ? La question n'est pas nouvelle, mais les auteurs s'intéressent plus souvent aux raisons de la prudence (le pourquoi) qu'à la manière de cette prudence (le comment). Dans cette recherche, nous optons pour la seconde approche : la prudence est un ensemble de techniques utilisées par le juge. Quelles sont ces techniques, ces doctrines de prudence ? Certaines comme la société divisée ou la question politique, mettent à mal l’idée même de pouvoir judiciaire. D’autres comme le litige juridique ou la disposabilité, empêchent l’accès au tribunal. Et dans le procès de la norme si particulier qu’est le contrôle de constitutionnalité, certaines permettent au juge d’éviter la question qui lui est posée, d’éviter de regarder le texte de loi que l’on lui demande de sanctionner, et surtout d’éviter de regarder la constitution. Nous présenterons ces doctrines et leurs origines diverses. Elles sont américaines, allemandes, françaises et pour les plus créatives d’entre elles, japonaises. Si le juge japonais est considéré comme l’un des plus prudent du monde pour n’avoir en soixante ans procédé qu'à une dizaine de déclaration d'inconstitutionnalité conduisant à l’annulation de la norme, si 90% des contentieux administratifs se soldent par une victoire de l’état, la raison et la manière se trouvent dans ces doctrines
What is the judge's prudence? The question is not new, but the authors are more interested in the reasons of prudence (the why) than in the way of this prudence (the how). In this research, we opt for the second approach: prudence is a set of techniques used by the judge. What are these techniques, these doctrines of prudence? Some, such as divided society or political issues, undermine the very idea of the judiciary. Others, such as legal interest or disposability, prevent access to court. And in the particular lawsuit of the norm that is the control of constitutionality, some allow the judge to avoid the question put to him, to avoid to look at the text of law that one asks him to sanction, and especially to avoid looking at the constitution. We will present these doctrines and their diverse origins. They are American, German, French and for the most creative of them, Japanese. If the Japanese judge is considered one of the most cautious in the world to have strike down in only 60 yeans a handful of statutes, if 90% of the administrative disputes result in a victory of the state, reason and manner are found in these doctrines

Much recent scholarship is devoted to projecting Japan’s future and analyzing its prospects as a global power. After two decades of economic stagnation, alarming demographic trends, and the 3/11 triple disaster, some scholars argue that Japan is grappling with an era of precarity, marked with instability and anxiety. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe returned to office in 2012, promoting his economic reform policy, “Abenomics” and within the third “arrow" of this approach targeting structural reforms, he promoted “womenomics”, a term coined by Kathy Matsui of Goldman-Sachs. Prime Minister Abe’s objective is to create a society where "women can shine” and women can participate in the labor market more equitably. However, it is unclear if equality can be achieved when Japanese women still encounter persistent workplace sex discrimination. While labor laws, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Law, have attempted to tackle workplace sex discrimination, many scholars and critics believe the laws have not done enough. One way Japanese women have attempted to combat workplace sex discrimination is with litigation. Starting in the 1960s, women have resorted to judicial relief to address discriminatory treatment in the workplace. However, while litigation is a powerful tool for social change in Japan, the literature suggests that Japanese women are reluctant to litigate, consistent with the larger consensus that Japan is a low-litigious society. If Japanese women have engaged in “litigation campaigns" and litigation rates are rising, yet Japanese women are reluctant to litigate, this creates an interesting paradox worth exploring. While these two conditions are not unique in and of themselves, what is curious in this nexus is how Japanese women actually relate to the law. This study analyzes how Japanese women relate to the law. Through semi-structured interviews with Japanese working women about their experiences, thoughts, and opinions, this study illustrates how Japanese women “do" law and deepens our understanding of their relationship with the law. In addition to this, this study proposes a new model for measuring litigiousness. Rather than measuring litigiousness in terms of aggregate litigation rates, this study operationalizes litigiousness in terms of personal intent. By applying this model to qualitative data, this study demonstrates that Japanese women actually do demonstrate a moderate degree of litigiousness as it relates to workplace sex discrimination. That is, the nail that sticks up isn't always hammered down.

Den ständigt ökande internationaliseringen leder till framkomsten av allt fler multinationella företag med verksamheter inom flera länder. En konsekvens av den ökade globaliseringen är att den internationella skatteflykten allt jämt ökat, då internationella koncerner väljer att flytta delar av vinsten till länder med mer förmånliga skattesatser. Ett sätt för de multinationella företagen att minimera den världsomfattande skatten är genom internprissättning. Internprissättning är det pris som koncernen sätter på sina interna transaktioner mellan koncernbolagen. Som en reaktion på den ökade skatteflykten utformade Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) riktlinjer för att vägleda regleringen av internprissättning. Syftet med riktlinjerna är att främja en harmonisering bland medlemsländerna för att minska antal konflikter mellan nationella lagstiftningar ur ett internationellt perspektiv och för att minska uppkomsten av dubbelbeskattning. Den grundprincip riktlinjerna utgår ifrån kallas för armlängdsprincipen. Armlängdsprincipen innebär att det koncerninterna priset ska motsvara det pris två oberoende företag hade fått betala för motsvarande transaktion. För att uppnå en ökad transparens och likformighet, anför även OECD:s riktlinjer hur de interna transaktionerna ska dokumenteras. Ett sätt att dokumentera transaktionerna på är genom att upprätta en land-för-land-rapport, vars syfte är att tillhandahålla skattemyndigheter viktig information och underlag för bedömning av koncerners prissättningar. Syftet med studien är att jämföra reglerna kring internprissättning i Sverige, Japan och Ryssland. I studien jämför vi skattelagstiftningarna för att undersöka vilka skillnader det finns inom de tre länderna med hänseende till internprissättning. Studien syftar även till att utreda om och i så fall varför ländernas skattelagstiftningar skiljer sig åt. För att uppfylla studiens syfte genomförde vi en komparativ analys, med ett kvalitativt förhållningssätt, där vi jämförde och analyserade studiens empiriska material. Det empiriska materialet består av ländernas nationella skattelagstiftning gällande internprissättning. I studiens analytiska skeende belyste vi de olikheter men även likheter vi kunde se vid jämförelsen. Dessa likheter och olikheter kopplade vi till den teoretiska referensram som vi i studien tagit fram för att på ett kvalitativt sätt kunna ge en förståelse för varför det finns skillnader, men även likheter, mellan de tre länderna. Slutsatsen som kan dras från studien är att det råder en frivillig harmonisering kring regleringen av internprissättning utifrån OECD:s riktlinjer inom de tre studerade länderna då vi funnit ytterst få skillnader mellan skattelagstiftningarna. Detta trots att OECD:s riktlinjer inte är tvingande på något sätt och trots att Ryssland inte är ett medlemsland i OECD, något som däremot både Sverige och Japan är. De skillnader som vi har kunnat se i den komparativa analysen har vi kunnat förklara genom att se till Hofstedes kulturella dimensioner och ländernas index inom respektive dimension. Skillnaderna har även kunnat förklaras genom att kopplas till ländernas kontinentala samt kommunistiska tradition. De likheter vi sett har vi däremot gett förståelse för genom att studera dem ur ett mimetiskt perspektiv av isomorfa processer, exempelvis utifrån Rysslands tillämpning av OECD:s riktlinjer. Studien bidrar med en fördjupad förståelse för OECD:s harmoniseringsarbete gällande internprissättning, samt en förståelse för hur regleringen ser ut inom de tre länderna och vilka skillnader det finns mellan dem.
The ever increasing internationalization leads to the emergence of increasingly multinational companies with operations in several countries. One consequence of the increased globalization is that international tax evasion has increased ever since international groups choose to move parts of profits to countries with more favorable tax rates. One way for the multinational companies to minimize the worldwide tax is through transfer pricing. Transfer pricing is the price which multinational companies uses for its internal transactions between its subsidiaries. As a response to the increased tax evasion, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) designed guidelines to guide the regulation of transfer pricing. The aim of the guidelines is to promote harmonization among member states in order to reduce the number of conflicts between national laws from an international perspective and to reduce the occurrence of double taxation. The basic principle of the guidelines is called the arm's length principle. The arm's length principle states that the intra-group price should correspond to the price that two independent companies has to pay for the corresponding transaction. In order to achieve increased transparency and uniformity, the OECD guidelines also cite how internal transactions are to be documented. One way of documenting the transactions is by establishing a country-by-country report, whose purpose is to provide tax authorities with important information and basis for assessing transfer prices. The aim of the study is to compare the rules for transfer pricing in Sweden, Japan, and Russia. In the study, we compare tax laws to investigate the differences between the three countries in terms of transfer pricing. The study also aims at investigating why the tax laws of the countries differ. In order to fulfill the purpose of the study we conducted a comparative analysis, with a qualitative approach, where we compared and analyzed the empirical material of the study. The empirical material consists of the countries' national tax laws concerning transfer pricing. In the analytical stages of the study we highlighted the differences, but also the similarities, we could see in comparison. These similarities and differences were linked to the theoretical framework that we developed in the study to qualitatively provide an understanding of why there are differences, but also similarities, between the three countries. The conclusion that can be derived from the study is that there is a non-compulsory harmonization regarding the regulation of transfer pricing based on OECD's guidelines in the three studied countries where we found very few differences between the tax laws. This despite the fact that the OECD's Guidelines are not compelling in any way. Also so, even though Russia is not a member state in the OECD, which, on the other hand, both Sweden and Japan is. We have been able to explain the differences we have seen in the comparative analysis by looking at Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and the countries' cultural dimension indices. The differences have also been explained by the continental and communistic tradition of the countries. However, the similarities we have seen have been understood by studying them from a mimetic perspective of isomorphic processes, for example Russia's application of the OECD guidelines. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of OECD's work towards harmonization of transfer pricing, as well as a sense of how the three countries regulate transfer pricing and what differences there are between them.

AbstractThis introduction summarizes chapters of Part II. In Chap. 10.1007/978-981-15-8848-8_9, Yamamoto (Jpn J Real Estate Sci 31:88–96, 2018) has compared between the street method, the asset valuation adopted for the imposition of property tax in Japan, and the computer-assisted mass appraisal (CAMA) method generally adopted in North America focusing on education and training of valuators. In Chap. 10.1007/978-981-15-8848-8_10, Yamazaki (Jpn J Real Estate Sci 31:97–101, 2018) argues that one of the major causes for relatively low density use of land in the city in Japan is the land tax system. He focuses on property tax and examines defects of the tax from view of economist. In Chap. 10.1007/978-981-15-8848-8_11, Kobayashi (Jpn J Real Estate Sci 31:129–138, 2018), taking an actual example, has examined difference between precise legal interpretation of ‘exemption from real estate acquisition tax due to purpose of use’ and taxation practices conducted by local administrative bodies. In Chap. 10.1007/978-981-15-8848-8_12, Shirakawa and Okoshi (Jpn J Real Estate Sci 31:88–96, 2017) have shown that the real estate companies were committed to transactions as dual agencies to whatsoever degree, and analyzed attributes of real estate brokerage companies which are able to be dual agencies and how such dual agency affects contract price.In Chap. 10.1007/978-981-15-8848-8_13, Ueno (Jpn J Real Estate Sci 31:97–105, 2017) has analyzed impacts of the macroeconomic conditions on the land price gradient curves which are estimated using real estate data of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area in 1970, 1976, 1985, 1988, 1994, 2008, 2010, and 2016. In Chap. 10.1007/978-981-15-8848-8_14, Komatsu (Jpn J Real Estate Sci 31:110–118, 2017) has analyzed impacts that refurbishment of existing apartment has on possible increase in rent using the multinomial probit model and the Tobit model. In Chap. 10.1007/978-981-15-8848-8_15, Hanazato (Jpn J Real Estate Sci 31:119–128, 2017) has shown that around 90% of condominium reconstruction cases are predictable using the estimated discriminant function in terms of objective real estate data only. In Chap. 10.1007/978-981-15-8848-8_16, Ota et al. (Jpn J Real Estate Sci 31:109–119, 2018) have analyzed determinants of rent for rental house, office, and shop within 10-min walking distance from Shibuya Station in Tokyo. Multiple regression analyses are conducted and have shown that space syntax (SS) measures (Hillier and Hanson, The Social Logic of Space. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1984) significantly affect rent as well as conventional location attributes.

Japan is a civil law country. All adult incapacity matters are dealt with by the Family Courts, in over 330 places (including branches and local offices) across Japan. There is no role for administrative bodies. Adult incapacity matters are governed by the civil code and the procedural law of family matters. There are no official translations, but see section C for links to helpful material. Japan does not have a separate Private International Law code, except for the Act on General Rules for Application of Laws.

Japan has a three-tiered court system which is staffed with ‘career judges’ who join the court after completing their training and mostly stay there until retirement. The government launched the ‘justice system reform’ in the mid-1990s. This included the introduction of the law school system of US type and the lay assessor system in criminal procedure. Whether law school system was a success or not is being debated. The positive result of the reform is that the length of civil and criminal procedure has become shorter. This is particularly evident in disputes involving intellectual property. Specialised courts of the second instance on intellectual property was set up and is functioning well.

This chapter explains the ratification, main contents, and prospect of the 1979 Moon Agreements. The Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, better known as the Moon Treaty or Moon Agreement, is a multilateral treaty that turns jurisdiction of all celestial bodies (including the orbits around such bodies) over to the participant countries. Thus, all activities would conform to international law, including the United Nations Charter. It has not been ratified by any state that engages in self-launched human spaceflight or has plans to do so (e.g., the United States, the larger part of the member states of the European Space Agency, Russia [former Soviet Union], People's Republic of China, and Japan). As of January 2019, 18 states are parties to the treaty. As the current Moon Agreement has emerged as a problem as the United States and other major powers are not joining it, many lawyers, professors, and scientists urged that the powers ratify it quickly.

With research and technology (R&T) development activities for the next generation SuperSonic Transport (SST) being pursued globally over the past few years, the options to proposed airframe and engine concepts appears to be converging. The United States, the Europeans, and the Japanese are all engaged in developing the technologies needed for a future SST that is environmentally compatible and economically practical. Boeing and McDonnell Douglas are part of the team under an R&T contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to develop critical components and enabling materials that will allow industry to make a production decision by 2003. Europe’s three main aircraft manufacturer’s — i.e., Aerospatiale, British Aero-space, and Deutsche Aerospace — comprise the European Supersonic Research Program (ESRP). A primary Japanese effort called the Hypersonic Transport Propulsion System Research (HYPR) project consists of a consortium of four international engine manufacturers and the National Japanese Laboratory. The manufacturers are: Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., the Kawasaki Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., and General Electric Aircraft Engines Company, USA. A recent study by the Japan Aircraft Development Corporation (Reference 1) also addressed the technology requirements for the next generation SST. There are basically three major challenges that must be met before a new SST can become a reality. They are the technical, environmental, and economic challenges. The technical challenges of the propulsion system primarily reduce the development of new materials capable of sustaining higher temperatures and vibration (high and low frequency) over longer exposure times as well as capable of being produced at reasonable costs. Low emission combustors and low exhaust jet noise are the primary environmental challenges, which are a technical challenge in themselves. The economic challenge is to produce an aircraft and propulsion system that allows the manufacturers to recover development and manufacturing costs as well as realize a reasonable Return-On-Investment (ROI). In addition, Life Cycle Costs (LCC) must not be substantially above future subsonic airliners in order to justify premium fares the public would be willing to pay for the time savings of long-distance flights and still be profitable to the airlines.