Japanese Way of Legal Thinking

Abstract

Ladies and gentlemen, it's a very great honor for me to be able to speak to you on the subject entitled,The Japanese Way of Legal Thinking. As you probably know, many westerners believe in a myth which has developed concerning the psychology of the Japanese people. The myth tells us that many things in Japanese culture are completely opposite to everything in the western society. There is some basis for this belief. For example, when we want to call someone to come toward us, we use a wave of the hand for this purpose. However, in western society this signal is almost universally interpreted to mean waving good-bye to the person. Since the end of World War II with increased contacts between Japanese and westerners there has been a greater understanding about the psychology of the Japanese. Today, there seems to be less and less basis for this myth. At the same time, there does, however, exist a way of legal thinking which is specific to Japanese culture and her people.