COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE UNITED STATES AND JAPANESE LEGAL SYSTEMS

Omihachiman, Japan: J-Chat20 June 2011

Timothy J. BlanchBLANCH LAW GROUP, PLLC

Fun Legal Facts

United States米国[bei-koku]

• Lawyer – means a person authorized to act on behalf of someone else.

• Attorney – means a person trained and qualified to give legal advise to clients and represent them in court.

• Around 1.2 million licensed attorneys

Japan 日本[nihon]

• Bengoshi (弁護士 ) lit “advocate” - means a licensed Japanese attorney.

• Around 30,516 licensed bengoshi

• Benrishi ( 弁理士 ) – means intellectual property lawyer. [Patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret matters]

• Gaikokuho Jimu Bengoshi (外国穂事務弁護 士 ) – means “foreign registered attorney”.　 Gaiben or GJB for short.

• Around 325 licensed GJBs

Bengoshi & GJB Lapel Pin

Fun Legal Facts

米国

• Around 1.2 million attorneys in U.S.

• 307 million people in U.S.

• 1 attorney for every 256 people

日本

• Around 30, 516 licensed bengoshi in Japan.

• 128 million people in Japan

• 1 bengoshi for every 4,195 people

What do they look like?

Common Law v Civil Law Jurisdiction

米国

1. Based on:• English law

2. Common Law Jurisdiction• Law is developed by judicial

opinions; case law or precedent• Stare decisis

日本

1. Based on:• Chinese, German & French law

2. Civil Law Jurisdiction• Laws are written down in

collections• codified

Sources of Law

米国

1. Sources of Law

(a) Constitution(b) Statutes(c) Court Precedent(d) Administrative

日本

1. Sources of Law

(a) Constitution(b) Statutes: Roppo [six laws]

1) Civil Code2) Commercial Code3) Criminal Code4) Constitution of Japan5) Code of Criminal Procedure6) Code of Civil Procedure

(c) Administrative

Court Precedent: Judges only apply law; Not binding law.

Court System (米国 )

Federal Courts (1)

U.S. Supreme CourtU.S. Court Of Appeals

U.S. District Court

State Courts* (50)

Supreme CourtCourt of Appeals

Circuit CourtDistrict CourtSmall Claims

*Michigan Court Structure

Court of AppealsSuperior Court

D.C. (1)

Court System (日本 )

Supreme Court (1)

High Court (8)(Intellectual Property High Court - Tokyo)

District Court (50) (Family Court) Felonies

Summary Court (438)- Minor criminal offenses – less than JPY1,400,000

Jury v. Lay Judge System

米国• Jury of your peers• Cannot ask questions

日本• “Lay Judge” system (unique

to civil law jurisdictions)

• They act as judges; they can examine witnesses, ask questions and investigate

• Jury – “baishin in”

• Lay Judge – “saiban in”

Hanami!

Emergency

If you get arrested, call the Duty Attorney at the local bar association!

Tokyo: (03) 3580-0082

“Toban bengoshi o yonde kudasai”

Contact Information

Timothy J. BlanchMember

Address: 2825 Northridge Drive N.W., Grand Rapids, MI 49544Email: t.blanch@blanchlawgroup.comPhone: (616) 987-0394Fax: (616) 784-3622URL: www.blanchlawgroup.com