According to Shinto legend two gods, Izanagi and Izanami, which were brother and sister, dipped a spear into the ocean and drops from the spear formed the island of Onokorojima. Izanagi and Izanami then fell to earth and married. Izanami then gave birth to the islands of Japan and a couple more gods. Jimmu Tenno the first emperor of Japan was given the right to rule by his grandfather, Ninigi, son of the fire God, Amaterasu. Japanese claim they can trace the imperial genealogy all the way to Jimmu Tenno and the gods. Many Americans would believe this to be nonsense or myth. This idea means as much to the Japanese who practice Shinto as the idea of Jesus Christ does too many Christians. The Japanese have a very long history and culture that coincides with that lengthy history. The mere fact that the Japanese culture and history is much different than Americans is not sufficient reason to consider them illegitimate. The legal system of Japan is also very legitimate considering the history of the Japanese government and its changes since the 1600's. The law in Japan completes it's objective through the values that the Japanese have learned throughout their long history. Ke

The highest court in the land, the Supreme Court, is in the city of Tokyo. The court is composed of a chief justice and fourteen other justices. The Emperor appoints the chief justice and the cabinet designates the rest of the fifteen justices. The next election held for the diet also will allow the people to vote for or against the appointees. If the voters decide in this election that they don't want to retain a certain appointee, by majority, the person is immediately dismissed from the bench. This happens every ten years to insure democratic control over the Supreme Court judiciary. Five of the judges that are selected most generally come from the lower courts within the system, and five are also selected from the national bar association. The last five may be picked from former politicians, bureaucrats, professors, or prosecutors. The selection process is very competitive and seniority and bureaucracy play important roles. The average justice is sixty-two or three when appointed and is required to retire at the age of seventy. Justices are separated into three petty benches of five members, and if the case represents a question of constitutionality or may set a new precedent the petty bench will transfer the case to the full bench for consideration. Three judges institute a quorum on the petty bench and nine on the grand bench. Although, there is a majority of eight justices needed to declare a law unconstitutional by the grand bench. In criminal and civil cases the grounds for appeal must be a constitutional question or a question of law to be heard by the Supreme Court. The court will also hear appeal cases directly from a district court when both parties consent. I f the appeal does not meet the proper criteria it is then rejected by decision of the court and is not considered to be a judgement by the court. All other decisions or judgements made by the court are considered final. Most of the process involves the justices reviewing legal briefs and documents, although sometimes they will hear oral arguments. When the supreme court makes it judgement the reason for its decision is not given at the end of the trial but is later released to the legal teams and the public in the form of opinions. Each justice is able to let his opinion known separately in contrast to the district courts and high courts.

Port, Kenneth. Comparative Law: Law and the Legal Process in Japan. Durham: Carolina

The shadow of these practices still remains today in Japanese society. Everyone in Japan belongs to some group and all groups have people of rank and superior status. This along with the fact that Japan has never had a revolution that has come from the masses has formed a non- participatory culture in Japan. People in Japan believe that there is nothing that they can do about the government. So therefore they decide to leave most of their problems up to the law and the bureaucracy. Another distinct feature of the culture is the belief that one's choices and morals are based on their own beliefs, "personalism". Which is contrary to the belief of legalism in which one makes choices based on the same set of laws that everyone else does. The women's movement in Japan has suffered some slow-ups because of this very belief and Japanese are not as willing to take a case to court. They would rather rely on the bureaucracy to take care of things. Japanese culture and it's change throughout the country's history has had and remains to be a major subject when considering the Japanese legal system.

Haley, John O., ed. Law and Society in Contemporary Japan. Dubuque: Kendall/ Hunt,

The district courts have appellate jurisdiction over appeals from the summary court concerning civil judgements and also have original jurisdiction over all cases that aren't under the jurisdiction of another court. Normally the courts have one judge presiding unless there is a case that is deemed important enough and there will be a three-judge panel appointed. The

Some common words found in the essay are:
Supreme Court, Family Courts, Public Security, Bengoshi Japanese, People Japan, II Japan, Christians Japanese, Juris Doctorate, Councilors House, Ministry Justices', legal system, supreme court, japanese legal system, japanese legal, japanese culture, district court, summary court, three-judge panel, district courts, summary courts, family courts, legal system japan, district courts family, world war ii, maintenance public security,
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Approximate Pages = 16 (250 words per page double spaced)