More than five years of study -- at cram schools, not universities -- has been the norm to pass Japan's extremely competitive bar exam.
Of the 41,459 people who took last year's exam, only 1,183 passed. Critics say the situation is fostering people with test-taking skills instead of knowledge of practical law.
To remedy the problem and improve both the quality and quantity of the nation's lawyers, prosecutors and judges so they can meet increasing demand in a wider range of fields both at home and abroad, the Judicial Reform Council in 2001 proposed the creation of law schools modeled on those in the United States.