White Paper on Attorneys 2020


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Contents

Special Feature: Achievements and Challenges of Legal Aid
– Human Rights Advocacy by Attorneys and Bar Associations

Chapter 1. Development and Achievements of Legal Aid Programs…2


The JFBA Legal Aid Services: Providing Counsel for Cases Ineligible for State Funded Support

. 2
Achievements of the JFBA Legal Aid Programs: Successfully Bringing State/Public Funds in Part . 2
Aiming towards Full State/Public Funding: Key Issues and Other Prospects . 3

Chapter 2. Funding Sources for the Legal Aid Programs…4

2.1 Special Membership Fees                                                       . 4
2.2 Atonement Donation . 5


Chapter 3. The Seven Aid Programs: Actual Results and Findings...6

3.1

Legal Aid for Victims of Crime

.  6
3.2 Legal Aid Related to Refugee Recognition .  9
3.3 Legal Aid for Foreign Nationals . 10
3.4 Legal Aid for Children . 11
3.5 Legal Aid for Mentally Disabled Persons and Legal Aid Related to the Act on Medical Care and Treatment for Persons Who Have Caused Serious Cases under the Condition of Insanity . 12
3.6 Legal Aid for Older Adults, People with Disabilities, Homeless People, and Other Vulnerable People . 13

Chapter 4. Future Outlook...15

Part 1. Legal Profession Statistics

Chapter 1. Attorney Demographics…18

1.1 The Japan Federation of Bar Associations and the Attorney Population              . 18
1.2 Attorney Population by Age Group . 20


Chapter 2. Legal Profession Demographics…21

2.1 Number of Law School Applicants and Enrollment . 21
2.2 Statistics for Successful Examinees in Bar Examination . 22
2.2.1 Pass Rate of Bar Examination . 22
2.2.2 Demographics of the Preliminary Examination for the Bar Examination . 22
2.3 Number of Apprentices Who Completed the Legal Apprenticeship Training by Career Path . 25
2.4 Change in the Number of Judges, Prosecutors, and Attorneys over Time . 27
2.5 Gender Ratio of Law School Students, Bar Examination, Preliminary Bar Examination, and
Those Who Completed the Legal Apprenticeship Training
. 28
2.6 The Number of Attorneys in Japan Compared to Other Countries . 31
2.7 Change in Other Legal Profession Populations over Time . 33


Chapter 3. Mergers of Law Firms and Statistics of Legal Professional Corporations …34


3.1 Law Firm Size . 34
3.2 Legal Professional Corporation Statistics . 36
3.2.1 Number of Legal Professional Corporations . 36
3.2.2 Size of Legal Professional Corporations                  . 38

Chapter 4. Facts about Registered Foreign Lawyers (Gaikokuho-Jimu-Bengoshi)

…39

4.1 Change in the Number of Registered Foreign Lawyers over Time . 39
4.2 Registration of Registered Foreign Lawyers . 40
4.3 Status of Alliances in the Form of Foreign Law Joint Enterprises . 41
4.4 Incorporations of Registered Foreign Lawyer Corporations (Gaikokuho Jimu Bengoshi Hojin) . 43
4.5 Employment Status of Attorneys Hired by Registered Foreign Lawyers or Registered Foreign
Lawyer Corporations
. 44
4.6 Number of Foreign Lawyers Employed by Attorneys and LPCs . 44
4.6.1 By Nationality . 44
4.6.2 By Jurisdiction Where the Attorney’s License was Obtained . 44


Part 2. Activities of Attorneys

Chapter 1. Criminal Advocacy Activities…48

1.1 Duty Attorney (Toban Bengoshi) and Court-Appointed Defense Counsel Systems for Suspects . 48
1.1.1Outline of Duty Attorney (Toban Bengoshi) and Court-Appointed Defense Counsel System for
Suspects
. 48
1.1.2 Current Situation of the Duty Attorney (Toban Bengoshi) System . 49
1.1.3 Changes in the Number of Duty Attorney Requested Cases, Appointed Cases, and Criminal
Suspect Defense Aid Cases
. 50
1.1.4 Public Defense System Available Prior to Institution of Prosecution . 51
1.1.4.1 Operation Status of Court-Appointed Defense Counsel System for Suspects . 51
1.1.4.2 Permission or Rejection for Detention Requests . 53
1.2 The Status of Defense Attorneys’ Involvement in Overall Criminal Cases . 54
1.2.1 The Status of Court-Appointed Defense Counsel Contracts and the Number of Defendants with
Court-Appointed Defense Counsel
. 54
1.2.2 Changes in the Percentage of Defendants Retaining Criminal Defense Counsel (after Institution of
Prosecution) (Court-Appointed and Privately Retained) at District Courts
. 54
1.2.3 Changes in the Percentage of Defendants Retaining Criminal Defense Counsel (after Institution of
Prosecution) (Court-Appointed and Privately Retained) at Summary Courts
. 55
1.2.4 Changes in the Percentage of Defendants Retaining Criminal Defense Counsel (after Institution of
Prosecution) (Court-Appointed and Privately Retained) at High Courts
. 56
1.3 Defense Activities in Juvenile Cases . 57
1.4 The Lay Judge System . 59
1.4.1 Cases Determined by Lay Judges . 59
1.4.2 Actual Practice of Lay Judge Trials . 60
1.4.2.1 The Number of Persons Who Have Been Subjected to Saiban-in (Lay Judges) Trials that Have
Been Disposed of
. 60
1.4.2.2 Comparison of the Average Period Taken for Court Deliberations and the Average Period of
the Pretrial Conference Procedure (by confession and denial), etc.
. 60


Chapter 2. Activities in Civil and Other Lawsuits…63

2.1 Civil Lawsuits . 63
2.1.1 Attorneys’ Involvement in Ordinary Civil Lawsuits before District Courts . 63
2.1.2 Attorneys’ Involvement in Ordinary Civil Lawsuits before Summary Courts . 64
2.1.3Changes in the Percentage of Appointed Attorneys in Ordinary Second Instance Trials (before
High Courts)
. 65
2.1.4 Labor Tribunal Cases . 66
(1) Number of Labor Tribunal Cases Newly Accepted by and Concluded at District Courts . 66
(2) Status of Appointing Agents in Labor Tribunal Proceedings at District Courts . 67
2.2 Supporting Activities for Criminal Victims . 68
2.3 JFBA Support Activities for Affected People in Relation to the Great East Japan Earthquake . 69
2.3.1 Recommendations, etc. the JFBA has Issued and Legislation and Systems Realized . 69

Chapter 3. Expansion of Attorneys' Activities…71

3.1 Current Situation of In-house Attorneys                              . 71
3.1.1 Changes in the Number of In-house Attorneys . 71
3.1.2 Situation of Public Officers with Fixed Terms . 72
3.2 Diet Members and Head of Local Governments Registered as Attorneys . 74


Part 3.Activities of the JFBA and Local Bar Associations

Chapter 1.Autonomy of Attorneys…76

1.1 Complaints and Dispute Conciliations . 76
1.1.1 Complaints against Attorneys . 76
1.1.2 Dispute Conciliation . 78
(1) Number of Dispute Conciliation Cases Newly Received . 78
(2) Handling of Dispute Conciliation Cases (All Bar Associations) . 78
1.2 Disciplinary System for Attorneys and its Operation . 79
1.2.1 Summary of the Disciplinary System for Attorneys . 79
(1) Request for Discipline . 79
(2) Investigation by Disciplinary Enforcement Committee . 79
(3) Examination by Disciplinary Actions Committee . 79
(4) Filing of an Objection, etc. . 79
(5) Public Notice by the Official Gazette, etc. . 80
1.2.2 Statistics Regarding Disciplinary Action . 82
(1) Changes in the Number of Newly Accepted Requests for Disciplinary Action (All Bar Associations) . 82
(2) Details of the Handling the Requests for Disciplinary Action (All Bar Associations) . 83
(3) Ratio of Disciplinary Action (All Bar Associations) . 84
1.2.3. Operation of the Disciplinary System . 85
(1) Cases Handled by Disciplinary Enforcement Committees of Bar Associations and the JFBA . 85
(2) Cases Handled by Disciplinary Actions Committees of Bar Associations and the JFBA . 86
(3) Cases Handled by the JFBA Board of Discipline Review . 87
1.2.4 The Flow and Current Situation of Disciplinary Procedure . 88

 

Chapter 2.The JFBA's Activities involving Human Rights Redress…89

2.1 The Operation of the Human Rights Redress System . 89
2.1.1 Procedures for Human Rights Redress System . 89
2.1.2 The Number of Human Rights Redress Cases (by Category) . 91
2.2 Current Situation Regarding Retrial Cases Supported by the JFBA . 92
2.2.1 Retrial Cases Supported by the JFBA . 92
2.2.2 Achievement by the JFBA for its Support on Retrial Request Cases . 92

 

Chapter 3.International Activities of the JFBA…95

3.1 International Human Rights Activities . 96
3.1.1 Activities at the United Nations (UN) and International Conferences . 96
3.1.2 Activities Related to the UN Human Rights Bodies and the UPR . 97
3.2 International Cooperation . 99
3.2.1 Past and Current JFBA Assistance Projects for Bar Associations in Developing Countries (by
Country)
. 99
3.2.2 JICA Long-Term Experts Achievement . 101
3.3 International Exchange Activities . 103
3.3.1 Membership of International Organization . 103
3.3.2 MOUs Signed between the JFBA and Overseas Bar Organizations . 103
3.3.3 MOUs Signed between Local Bar Associations and Overseas Bar Organizations . 103
3.4 Overseas Visiting Scholar Program . 105
3.4.1 JFBA Visiting Scholar Program . 105
3.4.2 Past Visiting Scholars . 105
3.5 Support for Career Development in International Public Service . 106
3.5.1 Implementation of Various Seminars and Events . 107
3.5.2 Support System for Career Development in International Public Service . 107
3.5.3 Implementation of Judicial Apprentice Training and Internships at the Offices of International
Organizations in Japan
. 108
3.6 Promotion of International Practice by Attorneys . 108
3.6.1 JFBA’s Activities to Promote International Practice by Attorneys . 108
3.6.2 Attorney Referral System for Japanese SMEs Going Overseas . 109


Chapter 4. Other Activities...110

4.1  Legal Expenses Insurance (Right Protection Insurance) System                                                 

.  110

Part 4.Comprehensive Legal Support

Chapter 1. Japan Legal Support Center (Ho-terasu)…112

1.1 Scope of Operations of Ho-terasu                         . 112
1.2 Support Operations Entrusted by the JFBA . 113

 


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