Abstract
This article discusses the relationship between law and society in the post-war Japan from a democratic legal studies' (DLS) point of view.
When the modern law of Japan was created in the Meiji era, it was modeled on western law; that is to say that western law was received into Japan. However, unlike the modern western droit de citoyen, Japanese law was not a product of a popular revolution. It was partly because Japan was an underdeveloped capitalist nation and also because human rights were not guaranteed under the tenno or imperial regime.
In the process of the democratic reforms after WWII, a democratic legal system was introduced as well as the new Constitution of Japan. Nevertheless, such reforms were "granted from the top" under the U.S.-led Allied Occupation and therefore never took root firmly among the national community. In the 1960's, the rapid economic growth policy was pursued, taking advantage of the immature civil society. Consequently, "the law of the capital" was well organized at the expense of "the law of citizens". That is why the post-war Japan has never achieved a mature welfare state as is found among the western models. But with regard to law in society (lebens Recht), citizens' grass-roots movements have grown increasingly popular since the 1960's; in the process, all different new human right problems have arisen and come to the surface.
Currently, Japanese society is becoming more and more confused after the post-welfare state era of the 1970's and 1980's. This article deals with the following legal reforms in view of the twenty-first century: (1) a family law system (reform of the uniform family model), (2) the local community and local autonomy, (3) civil society and contracts, (4) civil society and liability, (5) preventive legal studies and judicial reform, (6) the contemporary Japanese state, and (7) the international community and state sovereignty.
In conclusion, it is important how we could establish and maintain a social system to achieve the full protection of individuals' right to pursue a happy life (right to selfdetermination). I propose a cyclical system as a model: individuals→family→local life community→civil society→state (national community)→international community, and the reverse flow from the international community to individuals. A democratic legal system is a system which should operate on the smooth flow of such a cycle.
