6 - Judicial Review of Restrictions on Constitutional Rights in Japan

Summary

The Supreme Court of Japan has not officially adopted constitutional proportionality review as an established framework for the judicial review of restrictions on constitutional rights. Instead of articulating a general framework, the Supreme Court prefers to resolve a particular issue within its specific context. As a result, the Supreme Court’s framework of analysis is not well structured, and is highly ad hoc and contextualized. We can see in the reasoning of the Supreme Court some semblance of proportionality review. But the Supreme Court remains highly deferential toward the legislature and the government in most cases.