Colin P.A. Jones - The Japan Times

LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL

Feb 8, 2016

Words about sentences: the Japanese vocab of crime and punishment

Navigating the terms and kanji involved in the penal process in Japan can be a trial in itself.

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Feb 7, 2016

What's in a surname? A court divorced from reality

Here at Law of the Land, I try to share "the Japanese law experience" with general readers. Today's experience is called "The Frustration of Reading Supreme Court Decisions" and takes as examples two of the most significant decisions of 2015: one on a law requiring spouses to have the same surname, the...

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Jan 10, 2016

A year in the life of Japan's Supreme Court

Grand rulings hogged the headlines in 2015 while the Petty Benches sweated the small stuff and big issues were kicked down the line.

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Dec 6, 2015

Beware Japan's old problems posing in new packaging

When government announcements describe 'new' problems and propose solutions, they should be taken with a side-order of salt.

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Nov 16, 2015

And now for something completely unconstitutional

When did the Abe-verse become an alternate reality where past violations of the nation's basic law can, with a straight face, be used to justify further violations of the same type?

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Oct 11, 2015

Japan’s Constitution won’t protect revolting foreigners

It's worth bearing in mind that the most prominent case concerning the constitutional rights of foreigners involved an American who got kicked out of the country for participating in antiwar protests.

LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL

Sep 28, 2015

Where's the justice? In Japan's legal terminology, it's almost nowhere to be seen

'Where's the justice?!" That's the common refrain of people who lose in court. In Japan, the answer may be "nowhere," at least as far as terminology goes.

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Sep 16, 2015

Arresting possibilities: a primer on who can lock you up in Japan

Do you lie awake at night wondering 'Who can arrest me, and why?' The answer is: anyone.

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Aug 9, 2015

Is Japan equipped to handle historic decisions that cost lives, limbs and loved ones?

Perhaps calendars should indicate not just holidays, but the dates on which important people in our collective pasts made decisions that caused tremendous harm.

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Jul 15, 2015

The LDP's comic appeal for constitutional change falls flat

I hadn't planned on reading the Liberal Democratic Party's propaganda comic on constitutional change for the same reason I don't watch NHK, listen to AKB48 or use my underpants as an ashtray. Yet, as a piece of Japanese legal cultural history, perhaps it merits comment.

LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL

Jun 8, 2015

Too much 'ganbaru' could push anyone over the edge

For those trying their hardest or already at the end of their rope, 'ganbaru' can seem like a slap in the face rather than a gesture of encouragement.

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Jun 7, 2015

Hey bureaucrats, leave those kids — and teachers — alone

To look at Japan's educational policy in action, you can't help but wonder if insularity and mediocrity might actually be the goal.

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

May 10, 2015

Perfect storm of factors conspires to empty Japan

While 'empty-house syndrome' may seem like a problem mostly afflicting rural Japan, it is already an issue in metropolises such as Tokyo and Osaka, and will become more so in the years to come.

LIFE / Language

Apr 20, 2015

'Vague' Japanese language can be maddeningly specific

For a supposedly vague language, Japanese can be incredibly specific when it comes to personal pronouns, the law and the family, for example.

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Apr 12, 2015

Bridging corruption and legitimacy: amakudari

Amakudari reaches into almost every aspect of civil and economic life, quietly taking its cut in the form of higher prices, obscure but lucrative monopolies and seemingly bizarre regulations.

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Mar 11, 2015

Why robots will be granted a license to kill, in Japan and everywhere else

As long as we feel the need to occasionally harm our fellow human beings, most of us will happily let other people — or things — do the dirty work.

COMMUNITY / Issues

Feb 23, 2015

Badges of honor: What Japan's legal lapel pins really mean

I finally have a lapel badge. After almost two decades of working in Japan-related law jobs, this is a big deal.

LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL

Feb 23, 2015

Any attempt to scale Japan's mountain of rules is doomed

In England of the distant past, the word "doom" was a legal term, referring to a judgment imposing a punishment. Some etymological sources suggest it has common roots with the Sanskrit "dharma," a deeply complex word that can refer to customary social duties or divine law, depending upon the religious...

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Jan 7, 2015

Never mind the facts — logic alone demolishes 'comfort women' deniers' case

Never mind all the living and documentary proof — the idea that 'comfort women' were somehow exempt from wartime coercion and organization is absurd.

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Dec 10, 2014

Electoral dysfunction leaves Japan's voters feeling impotent

This Sunday's poll could well prove a high-water mark of pointlessness even for Japan: an election campaign waged against the unelected.

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