Of graduates who completed their studies after law schools were set up under a 2004 reform, only 48 percent who took the national bar exam passed, the Justice Ministry said Thursday.

The pass rate is far below the 70 percent to 80 percent target set forth in a 2001 report by the Justice System Reform Council, which laid the groundwork for the new system.

Of 2,091 examinees from 58 law schools, 1,009 graduates from 54 law schools passed the new exam. The other four schools had no successful applicants, the ministry said.

Chuo University's law school had the largest number of passing graduates, with 131, a pass rate of 54 percent. Kyoto Sangyo University, Kobe Gakuin University, Tokai University and Himeji Dokkyo University failed to produce any passing graduates, the ministry said.

Those who pass the bar can become judges, prosecutors or attorneys after completing a training program.

This year's exam was taken by students who began their studies in 2004 and graduated with a degree in law. Those who study law as undergraduates can complete law school in two years. Those with undergraduate degrees in other fields spend three years at law school.

Since 2004, 74 law schools have been set up around the country.

The council, which the government set up for two years in 1999, called on law schools to institute rigorous curricula, but the graduation rate among the 2,350 law school students admitted to the two-year courses in 2004 was over 90 percent.