Oxford LibGuides: Asia : guide to legal resources: Japan

Western language commentary on Japanese law

The current collection is on Level 1, one floor down from the level at which you enter the library.
SOLO searches may reveal that the Bodleian Japanese Library's collection also has material to support your studies for this jurisdiction.

Japanese Law by Hiroshi Oda
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this online via title link
ISBN: 0199232180
Publication Date: (3rd ed., 2009)
Print copy is at Japan 510 O21.9b3
The Changing Role of Law in Japan by Dimitri Vanoverbeke (Editor); Jeroen Maesschalck (Editor); David Nelken (Editor); Stephan Parmentier (Editor)
Call Number: Japan 510 V272.5a
ISBN: 9781783475643
Publication Date: 2014
Japanese reports for the XIXth International Congress of Comparative Law (Vienna, 20-26 July 2014) by International Academy of Comparative Law. Thematic Congress (2nd : 2012 : Taipei, Taiwan)
Call Number: General 510 T646a/13
Publication Date: 2015
Three reports in French; list of contributors and colophon also in French and Japanese.

Washington International Law Journal (HeinOnline)
Remote access requires Oxford SSO.
"To further cross-cultural dialogue on foreign law, the Journal publishes English-language translations of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese legal materials."

Online resources available to anyone with access to the internet

The culture of capital punishment in Japan by David T. Johnson.
Call Number: Open access title available to all online via title link
ISBN: 9783030320867
Publication Date: 2020
Open Access online

Zeitschrift fur Japanisches Recht: Aktuelle Ausgabe
The Journal is a joint publication of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law (MPI), Hamburg, and the German-Japanese Association of Jurists (DJJV). Latest issue
Free online law journal. "Inaugurated in 1996, the Zeitschrift für Japanisches Recht / Journal of Japanese Law aims to be a truly international periodical for researchers and practitioners. Featuring comparative analysis on a full range of Japanese law topics, it adopts a variety of formats and methodological approaches and maximizes accessibility to Japanese law through publication in western languages (German, English and French)."
Zeitschrift fur Japanisches Recht: Suche
Articles from earlier issues are in the „Archives“ and can be located with the „Search“ function.
Birth of the Constitution of Japan
Provided by the National Diet Library
Prime Minister of Japan & his cabinet
Official website
Diet: House of Councillors
Official website English content includes current Constitution
Diet: House of Representatives
Official website
Ministry of Justice
Official website English version
National Printing Office of Japan
Official website. Japanese only New legislation is published in Kanpō (Gazettes)
JapanLII
Free resource. This link is to the English language index: much more is available not in translation
Cabinet Legislation Bureau
Official website Recent laws & treaties, and explanation of law making process in Japanese only.
Japanese Law Translation
Free resource. "These are unofficial translations. Only the original Japanese texts of the laws and regulations have legal effect, and the translations are to be used solely as reference material to aid in the understanding of Japanese laws and regulations."
Saibanrei Jōhō (Courts in Japan)
Searchable database of official case reports. Japanese only. Cases of the Supreme Court, high courts and district courts. Party names (unless those of corporations) are usually suppressed: search by court and date of the judgment.
Supreme Court of Japan
Official website English contents include database of selected decisions in English (for guidance,these are not official translations)
Intellectual Property High Court
Official website
Copyright law of Japan (2013)
Unofficial translation by Yukifusa OYAMA et al. Offered as part of the Copyright Research and Infomation Center (CRIC) September, 2013. Opens pdf. Use other pages in http://www.cric.or.jp/english/index.html for further explanation of Japanese copyright law in application.
RIETI Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry
Official website of Japanese "policy think tank established in 2001. Its mission is to conduct theoretical and empirical research, maximize synergies with those engaged in policymaking, and to make policy proposals based on evidence derived from such research activities." Publications available in Japanese, English, and Chinese.

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