page_title: Judicial system of Japan
hierarchical_section_title: Judicial system of Japan
caption_attribution_description: 日本語: 東京高等裁判所、東京都千代田区霞が関。
context_page_description: In the judicial system of Japan, the Constitution of Japan guarantees that "all judges shall be independent in the exercise of their conscience and shall be bound only by this constitution and the Laws". They cannot be removed from the bench "unless judicially declared mentally or physically incompetent to perform official duties," and they cannot be disciplined by executive agencies. Supreme Court judges, however, may be removed by a majority of voters in a referendum that occurs at the first general election following the judge's appointment and every ten years thereafter.
  The judiciary was far more constrained under the Meiji Constitution than it is under the present Constitution and had no authority over administrative or constitutional law cases. Moreover, the Ministry of Justice had complete and direct control over the courts' administrative affairs. Nonetheless, Professor John Haley argues that the courts maintained complete independence in the adjudication of particular cases. "Judicial independence from the political branches was emphatically established as a fundamental principle of governance in Article 57 of the Meiji Constitution.
context_section_description: In the judicial system of Japan, the Constitution of Japan guarantees that "all judges shall be independent in the exercise of their conscience and shall be bound only by this constitution and the Laws" (Article 76). They cannot be removed from the bench "unless judicially declared mentally or physically incompetent to perform official duties," and they cannot be disciplined by executive agencies (Article 78). Supreme Court judges, however, may be removed by a majority of voters in a referendum that occurs at the first general election following the judge's appointment and every ten years thereafter.
  The judiciary was far more constrained under the Meiji Constitution than it is under the present Constitution and had no authority over administrative or constitutional law cases.  Moreover, the Ministry of Justice had complete and direct control over the courts' administrative affairs. Nonetheless, Professor John Haley argues that the courts maintained complete independence in the adjudication of particular cases.  "Judicial independence from the political branches was emphatically established as a fundamental principle of governance in Article 57 of the Meiji Constitution.  Of all branches of government only the courts exercised authority "in the name of the Emperor."  Haley argues that this was and remains a matter of great pride for Japanese judges and notes that "placed prominently in all courtrooms was the inscription "in the name of the Emperor" as a meaningful reminder to imperial officials and subjects alike that the Emperor's judges were not subject to political control or direction."
  A key feature of Japanese courts is the emphasis on wakai settlements by mutual agreement of the parties, with no loser or winner. These settlements have the same effect as a court judgement (Code of Civil Procedure, article 267; Civil Execution Act, article 22). For example, in 2016, the District Courts issued 63,801 judgments and orders, and 52,957 claims were solved by wakai settlement. In the Summary Courts, the numbers were 186,808 and 40,509 respectively. 
  Historically, courts in Japan were following the inquisitorial procedure, for example in a shirasu court in the Edo era, where the Chief Magistrate (bugyo) was also the prosecutor. After 1890, Japan was influenced by the European inquisitorial style of French and German law, where judges and the prosecutor had the responsibility to find the fact and apply the law. After 1948, the courts in Japan were influenced by the American adversarial system. 
  In 2020, Japan ranked 15th in the World Justice Project's Rule of Law Index, a middling among G7 countries.
caption: Tokyo High Court
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