ABSTRACT

Japan’s Constitution is a progressive document that declares protection for a long list of individual rights against violation by government authority. To assess whether the Constitution succeeds in achieving this goal, we must consider the role played by Japan’s Supreme Court. The Court holds final authority to judge cases involving conflicts between individuals who assert beliefs or engage in behavior unacceptable to government authorities and government efforts to impose discipline against them. The Court is also charged with the constitutional mandate to prohibit discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of race, gender and other classifications. Japan’s progress toward achieving a free and open society relies heavily on the Court’s work in these areas. In this chapter, we examine rulings of the Court in cases that feature conflicts

between individuals and the state. To begin, we consider a landmark case in which the Court ruled in favor of a minority group that claimed to be victims of discrimination. Many commentators have expressed the hope that this judgment suggests the Court will take a more proactive stance in upholding individual rights in the future.