OSAKA UNIVERSITY SHORT-TERM STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAM _

01f-5
JAPANESE CONTEMPORARY LAW AND POLITICS

Takenori MURAKAMI, et al. (Faculty of Law)

Objective
Lectures on various aspects of laws and politics of contemporary Japan. This course is designed to provide basic information essential to understanding the Japanese legal and political systems. The course will be taught by the members of the Faculty of Law. A detailed syllabus will be distributed at the first meeting.

Textbook
None

Reference Books
Stockwin, James A., Governing Japan (3rd ed. Blackwell 1998)
Muramatsu, Michio, Local Power in the Japanese State (University of California Press 1997)
Oda, Hiroshi, Japanese Law (Butterworths 1992)

Course Schedule
Week 1. Prof. Kenji HIRATA: Consumer Protection in Japan
Week 2. Prof. Toshikazu SUENAGA: Corporate Governance and Corporation Law in Japan
Week 3. Prof. Osamu SAKUMA: Criminal Law and Economic Crime in Japan
Week 4. Prof. Toshimitsu NAKAO: History of Local Government in Modern Japan
Week 5. Prof. Joutaro YABE: Japanese Competition Policy and Law
Week 6. Prof. Takenori MURAKAMI: Information Disclosure in Japan (Japan's Law Concerning Access to Information held by Administrative Organs)
Week 7. Prof. Tatsuo IKEDA: Judicial System Reform in Japan
Week 8. Prof. Shigeki TANAKA: Japanese Legal Culture
Week 9. Prof. Isao NAKAYAMA: Constitutional Litigation in Japan
Week 10. Prof. Junichi KAWATA: Japanese Postwar Politics and Society
Week 11. Prof. Kazuya SAKAMOTO: Japanese Postwar Diplomacy
Week 12. Lec. Kenichi NISHIMURA: Election in Japan
Week 13. Prof. Takenori MURAKAMI and Lec. Kenichi NISHIMURA: Summary

Field Works
Field Work 1. Osaka District Court or Private Law Firm (Practice of Japanese Law Firm)
Field Work 2. Osaka Prefectural Diet

Grading
Class participation 50%
Paper submitted at the end of the course 50%