RITSUMEIKAN UNIVERISTY EXTERNSHIP FEBRUARY 2017 LAUREN DANCKWERTS CHELSEA

RITSUMEIKAN UNIVERISTY EXTERNSHIP FEBRUARY 2017 LAUREN DANCKWERTS & CHELSEA MACKINNON

PLACEMENT ACTIVITIES • Our placement experience involved participating in two week-long intensive course of Japanese Law in Kyoto and Tokyo. These seminars were delivered by Ritsumeikan University, in collaboration with Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and University of Sydney (USyd). They compr. Ised an overall theme of “globalization” and covered a various range of subject areas. We were also lucky enough to visit Osaka District Court to see Japanese Law in practice.

ROLES DURING PLACEMENT • Our role in the placement was to listen and engage with the material in order to develop a general understanding of Japanese Law and legal constructs and compare the rule of law, systems of government and business culture with our current knowledge thereby appreciating the role that law plays in a more global context

SKILLS DEVELOPED DURING PLACEMENT • Cultural Competence • The ability to critically compare and contrast divergent legal systems in a real world context • Ability to fully immerse ourselves in the cultural, social and political factors which give rise to the legal differences articulated throughout the seminars

NOTEWORTH DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN JAPANESE AND AUSTRALIAN LEGAL SYSTEMS • Australia has a common law system whereas Japan cannot truly be classified as either ’common law’ or ‘civil law’ – difficulties in classifying or defining Japanese law despite numerous attempts to do so • Immigration in Japan is not pursued seriously politically – compared to Australia, Japan is a generally a racially and culturally homogenous society – laws reflect this homogeneity – absence of any Racial Discrimination Act • Laws pursued are seen to nurture the diverse cultural heritage and traditions • Criminal justice system is incomparable to Australian laws • Presence of lifelong employment laws – somewhat decreasing due to economic climate

KYOTO CAMPUS Ritsumeikan School of Law, Kyoto

TOPICS COVERED IN KYOTO • Gender and Law • Politics and Constitutional Law • Government and the Law • Civil Justice and the Law • Arbitration and ADR • Consumer Law • Criminal Justice and the Law • Pop Culture and the Law

Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kyoto

OSAKA DISTRICT COURT • The ability to take part in and watch a variety of criminal law trials in the Osaka District Court was an amazing opportunity to immerse ourselves in the Japanese Legal System • We were able to get a first hand perspective of their unique judicial and jury style and apply theoretical concepts of Japanese criminal law that we had learnt

OSAKA

TOKYO

TOPICS STUDIED IN TOKYO • Japanese Economy • Corporate Governance • Labour Law • Investment and Finance • Tax Law