Law In Everyday Japan

by West, Mark D.

• ISBN13: 9780226894034
• ISBN10: 0226894037
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780226894096
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-08-15
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr
• More Book Details

Summary

Lawsuits are rare events in most people's lives. High-stakes cases are even less commonplace. Why is it, then, that scholarship about the Japanese legal system has focused almost exclusively on epic court battles, large-scale social issues, and corporate governance? Mark D. West's Law in Everyday Japan fills a void in our understanding of the relationship between law and social life in Japan by shifting the focus to cases more representative of everyday Japanese life.Compiling case studies based on seven fascinating themeskaraoke-based noise complaints, sumo wrestling, love hotels, post-Kobe earthquake condominium reconstruction, lost-and-found outcomes, working hours, and debt-induced suicideLaw in Everyday Japan offers a vibrant portrait of the way law intermingles with social norms, historically ingrained ideas, and cultural mores in Japan. Each example is informed by extensive fieldwork. West interviews all of the participants-from judges and lawyers to defendants, plaintiffs, and their families-to uncover an everyday Japan where law matters, albeit in very surprising ways.

Author Biography

Mark D. West is the Nippon Life Professor of Law and director of the Center for Japanese Studies at the University of Michigan. He is coauthor of Economic Organizations and Corporate Governance in Japan.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
Author's Note	xiii
1 Introduction	1	(8)
2 Lost and Found	9	(48)
3 Sumo	57	(32)
4 Karaoke	89	(36)
5 Earthquakes and Condominiums	125	(20)
6 Love Hotels	145	(46)
7 Working Hours	191	(24)
8 Debt-Suicide	215	(52)
9 Conclusions and Implications	267	(4)
Index	271