Greeting from the Director
Welcome to Waseda University Institute of Comparative Law!
Today the study of comparative law has reached a new level. Modern Japanese law began as a response to European law. Therefore, research on foreign laws was an indispensable element of the study of Japanese law, and it is safe to say that this is still true now. Waseda University Institute of Comparative Law is currently home to fifteen joint research projects based on the study of foreign laws, and our fellows both inside and outside Waseda University are actively engaged in a variety of research activities. Research results are published in Comparative Law Review, the official journal of the Institute of Comparative Law.
In the present day and age, increasing globalization and the daily availability of the internet have made it exceedingly simple to collect the latest information on foreign laws. As a result, amidst the huge influx of information on foreign laws, affirming the identity of Japanese law has also become an important task of comparative law. One aim of the Institute of Comparative Law is, therefore, the encouragement of research on Japanese law, and outstanding results are published in our monograph series Waseda University Comparative Law Study Series. Moreover, such research is inherently associated with the promotion of knowledge about Japanese law. In addition to publishing the English-language Waseda Bulletin of Comparative Law, we also have been making efforts to send out information via our English-language newsletter, Claw Newsletter, and by regularly updating our English website (http://www.waseda.jp/hiken/index.html). I think we can say confidently that the Institute of Comparative Law plays an important role in deepening the understanding of Japanese law in foreign countries.
Globalization presents an additional challenge to the study of comparative law, and that is to explore the rationale common to the indigenous laws of each country, and to create commonly applicable laws that transcend them. Except for the field of international law, the exploration of commonly applicable law is, in my opinion, still in its infancy. If such law comes into being, it should be possible to take legal steps to deal with issues of global concern by applying it alongside indigenous laws in the relevant countries. Such an approach is only possible if we first understand one another's indigenous laws. To proceed with comparative research, joint efforts among related countries are necessary. Efforts and steps to promote such comparative research are vital for Japan in order truly to fulfill its global task in future. Moreover, jurisprudence that is accepted and developed by practicing professionals must also be of global applicability. A jurisprudence based on a broad conception of the world is also crucial to legal practice.
We are now confronted with the fact that knowledge of Japanese law in foreign countries remains limited. Compared to the economic field, Japanese law lags behind to a surprising degree in conveying information. Clearly, it will not be a simple task to promote the study of comparative law as joint research. Fortunately, the Institute of Comparative Law has reached academic agreements with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the School of Law of Tsinghua University, the Institute for Comparative and International Law at the University of Melbourne, the School of Law of Duke University, the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law, the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property, Competition and Tax Law, the Korea Legislation Research Institute, and University College London. Deepening and strengthening such connections is one way we can move forward.
Waseda University Institute of Comparative Law has a glorious history of 50 years and an outstanding team of 187 fellows, 125 of them full-time professors at Waseda University and 62 of them special research fellows. With the enthusiastic participation of all of our fellows in comparative law research at various levels, I believe Waseda University Institute of Comparative Law will become one of the leading centers for the study of comparative law not only in Japan but also in the world. We look forward to your positive participation in our research.
September 21, 2010
Professor Morikazu Taguchi
