Ace Attorney Context: The Japanese Legal System
Legal reforms after the Meiji Restoration
Major reforms in Japanese law took place with the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Meiji Restoration in the late 1800s.[18] At the beginning of the Meiji Era (1868-1912), the Japanese populace and politicians quickly accepted the need to import western legal system as part of the modernization effort, leading to a rather smooth transition in law.[18] Under the influence of western ideas, the Emperor proclaimed in 1881 that a Nation Diet (parliament) would be established, and the first Japanese Constitution (Meiji Constitution) was ‘granted’ to the subjects by the Emperor in 1889.[18][19] Japan’s Meiji Constitution emulated the German constitution with broad imperial powers; British and French systems were considered but were abandoned because they were seen as too liberal and democratic.[18] Elections took place for the lower house, with voters consisting of males paying a certain amount of tax, about 1% of the population.[20]
With a new government and a new constitution, Japan began to systematically reforming its legal system.[18] Reformers had two goals in mind: first, to consolidate power under the new imperial government; second, to “modernize” the legal system and establish enough credibility to abolish unequal treaties signed with western governments.[18]
The early modernization of Japanese law was primarily based on European civil law systems and, to a lesser extent, English and American common law elements.[21] Chinese-style criminal codes (Ming and Qing codes) and past Japanese codes (Ritsuryo) were initially considered as models but abandoned.[18] European legal systems — especially German and French civil law — were the primary models for the Japanese legal system, although they were often substantially modified before adoption.[22] Court cases and subsequent revisions of the code also lessened the friction between the new laws and established social practice.[18] The draft Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (German civil code) served as the model for the Japanese Civil Code.[18] For this reason, scholars have argued that the Japanese legal system is a descendant of the Romano-Germanic civil law legal system.[23][22]
Laws on censorship and laws aimed to control political and labor movements were enacted in the Meiji era, curtailing the freedom of association.[18] By the 1920s, laws were amended so that leaders of organizations that advocated for Marxism or changing the imperial structure could be put to death.[18]
In the 1910s, a movement for more democracy developed and there were several cabinet supported by elected political parties.[18] Before this, the genrō (leaders of the Meiji Restoration) would privately confer and recommend Prime Minister candidates and cabinet members to the Emperor.[24] Reforms in this period include the General Election Law, which abolished property qualifications and allowed almost all men over age 25 to vote for members of the House of Representatives (the lower house), although the House of Peers was still controlled by the aristocracy.[18][25] Voting rights was never extended to the colonies, like Korea, although colonial subjects who moved to Japan could vote after the 1925 reforms.[26]