BAKanagawa Bar Association

1 Profile

Profile of the Kanagawa Bar Association
The Kanagawa Bar Association is an organization established under the Attorney Act of Japan. TheAttorney Act provides that a bar association shall be established in the jurisdictional district of each
district court. The Kanagawa Bar Association is based in Kanagawa Prefecture ( hereinafter referred to as“Kanagawa”) which is under the jurisdiction of the Yokohama District Court. Additionally, attorneys,legal professional corporations and local bar associations across the country form the Japan Federation ofBar Associations.
The Kanagawa Bar Association consists of all attorneys and legal professional corporations that have alaw office in Kanagawa; membership is mandatory for those who wish to set up a law office inKanagawa.
The Kanagawa Bar Association headquarters are in Yokohama, with four branches: Kawasaki Branch,
Yokosuka Branch, Sagamihara Branch and Kensei (“western Kanagawa”) Branch. Branch activities arecarried out by member attorneys practicing in each region.
As of June 1, 2015, 1,491 attorneys and 51 legal professional corporations belonged to the Kanagawa BarAssociation.

Sagamihara BranchKawasaki Branch

Yokohama
Headquarters
Kensei Branch

Yokosuka Branch2 History

History ofthe Kanagawa Bar Association
After a modern judicial system was introduced in Japan, daigennin, predecessors of modern-day attorneys,started to practice law. In 1880, the Yokohama Daigennin Association was established by daigennin inYokohama. This eventually became the Kanagawa Bar Association.
In 1893, the initial Attorney Act ( “Initial Act” ) was enacted in Japan, bringing about a new name forattorneys ( bengoshi ), the establishment of the bar exam, and compulsory membership of a bar association forall attorneys. In the same year, the Yokohama Bar Association was established.
In 1933, the Initial Act was amended (“Second Act”) : legal services became the monopoly of attorneys, andfemales became able to qualify as attorneys.
In 1949, the current act ( “Current Act” ) was enacted. Whereas the Minister of Justice had control overattorneys previously, attorneys became self-governing, and each bar association became involved in thesystem for disciplining its member attorneys.
In 2016, the name of the Yokohama Bar Association was changed to the Kanagawa Bar Association.
According to existing records, membership of the Kanagawa Bar Association was 67 in 1923, over 100 in
1929, and continued to increase at a good rate after the Current Act was enacted in 1949. As of June 1, 2015,
there were 1,491 members.

3 Attorneys
Law Offices of Attorneys
who Belong to the Kanagawa Bar Association
Attorneys who belong to the Kanagawa Bar Association
either run or work for law offices in Kanagawa. There are afew relatively large law offices with about 20 attorneys, but
the most of the law offices in Kanagawa are small withabout five or fewer attorneys.
Most clients of attorneys who belong to the Kanagawa BarAssociation are either individuals living in or companies
based in Kanagawa. Attorneys who belong to the Kanagawa
Bar Association can also work for individuals and/orcompanies outside Kanagawa.
An attorney who belongs to the Kanagawa Bar Association
can be a procedural attorney at any court in Japan.

4 Major Activities
Major Activities ofthe Kanagawa Bar Association
Human Rights Protection
The Bar Association, known at the time as the Yokohama Bar Association, established “The Yokohama Bar
Association Human Rights Award” in 1997, with the aim of honoring outstanding individuals andorganizations that have made major contribution to human rights protection.
The Kanagawa Bar Association is also involved in other human rights protection activities including:- warning police that an investigation may be violating a suspect’s human rights- warning media organizations whose reporting may be violating someone’s privacy
Services Provided for the Public

Legal Consultation

Activities for Elderly and Disabled People

Legal consultation is provided by member attorneys inThe Kanagawa Bar Association deals with issues

eight legal counseling centers within Kanagawa. Member

concerning elderly and disabled people, so that theirattorneys also visit city halls, town offices and otherrights can be protected, and legal as well as welfareorganizations to offer legal consultation, giving thesupport can be implemented properly. As well as specificpublic easier access to legal support.

activities to protect legal rights, the Kanagawa Bar
Association also conducts:- study in the field of law and welfare- seminars ( e.g. regarding guardianship,property administration, prevention of abuse)

Dispute Resolution Center
Some people are not willing to take legal proceedings,
but prefer to settle disputes through negotiation. TheKanagawa Bar Association meets these needs through analternative dispute resolution ( ADR ) agency .

Public Seminars on Daily Legal Issues
Response to Criminal and Juvenile Cases

Seminars on daily legal issues are offered by theThe Criminal Advocacy Committee conducts a broad

Kanagawa Bar Association at eight places in Kanagawa

range of activities related to criminal defense, including:

to disseminate knowledge of law to the public.

- handling of the court-appointed defense systemand serious criminal/juvenile cases- contribution to revision of the court-appointed defense
system- implementation of training responding to revision of-laws (e.g. saiban-in trials)

public relations regarding criminal defense

Legal Education
The Kanagawa Bar Association’s Legal Education
Center organizes activities such as trial observations,visiting lectures and mock trials for students and thegeneral public.

Services for Small and Medium Enterprises
The Kanagawa Bar Association considers it important to support SMEs ( Small and Medium Enterprises ).
The attorney referral service is one example of such support. Support for SMEs’ overseas market entry
has also been strengthened in recent years.

Academic Research
The Kanagawa Bar Association has 16 specialized and practical study
groups. Each study group is active in research about its own area ofpractice. The results of this research are published annually in“Senmon-Jitsumu Kenkyu (Research on the Specialty Practice)” .
Specific practice areas are as listed below:

intellectual property law
bankruptcy law

information technology law
anti-monopoly law

financial transaction law

corporate law
condominium law
inheritance and wills

family law

Academic Researchcredit collection
real property law
administrative law
small business loans
sports law

environmental law
liability for compensation
for damage in traffic accidents

International Exchange Activities
The Kanagawa Bar Association is actively associated with overseas
legal organizations. Agreements were signed with the Gyeonggi
Central Bar Association in Korea in 2003, and with the Shanghai
Bar Association in China in 2009. Reciprocal visits and internationalseminars are held with each partner.
Visits have also been made to theIndonesian Advocates Association( PERADI ) in Indonesia, and the Hanzhou Bar Association and the Dalian
Bar Association in China. The Kanagawa Bar Association will further
continue its efforts to strengthen ties with overseas entities.

Organization Chart+ Executive Bodies
President

Vice President
Secretariat

Advisory Bodies

Research OfficeTreasury OfficeSecretariat Administration OfficeCommittees

Human Rights Protection Committee
Criminal Advocacy Committee
Committee on Legal Problems of the Elderly
and People with Disabilities
Consumer Affairs Committee
International Exchange Committee
etc.

Civic Organizations

Legal Consultation Center
Dispute Resolution Center
Rescue Center for Victimsof Organized Crime Groups
Crime Victims’ Assistance Center
Contact Center

Decision-Making Bodies

General AssemblyHouse of DelegatesFinancial Auditing Organization
Independent Bodies

Auditor-Secretary
Qualifications Screening Board
Disciplinary Actions Committee
Disciplinary Enforcement Committee
Election Administration Committee

Branches

Kawasaki Branch
Kensei Branch
Yokosuka Branch
Sagamihara Branch

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Fax. +81 45 212 2888

9, Nihon-odori, Naka-ku , Yokohama 231-0021, Japan

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