A modern political structure was introduced to Japan by the Meiji Constitution of 1889. The basic principle of this constitution was Ten-no-Sei, a form of absolute monarchism. Sovereignty belongs to Ten-no by right of inheritance from imperial ancestors in a “Lineal succession unbroken for ages eternal” (Article I). Ten-no is described as “sacred and inviolable” (Article III).

Ladies and gentlemen, it's a very great honor for me to be able to speak to you on the subject entitled,The Japanese Way of Legal Thinking. As you probably know, many westerners believe in a myth which has developed concerning the psychology of the Japanese people. The myth tells us that many things in Japanese culture are completely opposite to everything in the western society. There is some basis for this belief. For example, when we want to call someone to come toward us, we use a wave of the hand for this purpose. However, in western society this signal is almost universally interpreted to mean waving good-bye to the person. Since the end of World War II with increased contacts between Japanese and westerners there has been a greater understanding about the psychology of the Japanese. Today, there seems to be less and less basis for this myth. At the same time, there does, however, exist a way of legal thinking which is specific to Japanese culture and her people.

What the Anglo-American refers to as “law,” the German calls “Recht” and the Frenchman “droit,” the Japanese calls “ho,” a term imported from ancient China. Searching back for its oldest meaning, we find that it is a compound ideograph comprised of a character originally signifying a kind of sacred beast which accused criminals were forced to touch, its reaction instantly determining guilt or innocence, and an abbreviated form of the character for water, an ancient symbol of impartiality. Thus the original meaning combines both the concepts of revealing guilt and of fairness, a characteristic shared with the western terms. In addition, the character is used in numerous other meanings, including institution, restraint, permanence, reason or truth, exemplar, standard, and means.

Shortly after the Meiji Restoration, under the influence of French law, a modern system of judicial administration was introduced in Japan. In 1871 the Ministry of Justice was created, and in 1872 several kinds of courts were established. However, in this period, the separation of powers had not yet been implemented. Therefore, it was not until 1875, the Eighth year of the era of Meiji, that Japan established a unified judicial system. In that year, for the first time, the judicial service was separated from the executive power and became independent, except that the Ministry of Justice retained responsibility for the functioning of the courts and the appointment of all court personnel, including judges. Under “Taishinin Sho-saibansho Shokusei Shōtei” (the Rules for the Organization of the Great Court of Judicature and Various Other Courts), one highest court “Taishin-in” (the Great Court of Judicature) and two types of inferior courts “Jōtō-saibansho and Fu-kensaibansho” (Higher Courts and Provincial Courts) were set up.

With regard to the development of law, legal science has played an important role in Japan. Therefore, publications such as treatises and articles that deal with legal science are considered extremely important. The legal system of Japan is a result of the reception of European code law, mainly from Germany and France. Besides the legal system, legal science was also adopted concurrently from Germany and other countries, and the position in which legal science is placed in Japan is very similar to that in those countries.