Graduate School of Law - Japan

Academic Principles & Scheme
The Graduate School of Law was established in order to foster professional research capability centering on legal education and has as its basic philosophy the nurturing of persons based on the Christian faith. We not only nurture researchers, but we proactively work to enable the growth of well-balanced human resources (professionals) who are equipped with both professional legal knowledge and are able to make legal decisions in order to play an instructive role in various sectors of society.
Academic Excellence
Department of Private Law
At the Department of Private Law, we give both general instruction on broad themes through seminars led by faculty members specializing in law, as well as personal instruction to each graduate student on how to conduct research based on a certain research theme. Roughly 50 lectures are given in connection with research at seminars known as the "General Seminar on Private Law,"at which several faculty members give lectures on topical themes (including visiting faculty from abroad) in an omnibus format. Based on the knowledge learned there, students conduct research on court precedents and are taught how to write a master's thesis in the seminar entitled "Research Methodology,"which focuses mainly on search methods of references from Japan, the U.K., the U.S., France, Germany, and Asia, as well as comments on writing academic papers. Thereafter, faculty members provide research instructions to students once a week and help them complete their master's theses.
Public Law
The Department of Public Law has introduced various new curricula while sharing courses that students can take with the Department of Private Law. Identical to the Department of Private Law, all first year students are in principle required to take "Research Method,"where they will learn basic tips on search methods of references from Japan and overseas as well as on writing academic papers. There is also a "Comprehensive Public Law Seminar,"which is taught by several faculty members in an omnibus format to discuss related themes from multiple angles. Students can study international criminal law, international humanitarian law and international human rights law, which are all deeply related, by three faculty members who are pioneers in their respective fields. As for specialized courses, we have also established a diverse array of "Research"courses that cover the respective legal fields. These courses are taught in seminar format with only a few students. This arrangement gives the students comparative freedom in selecting and taking courses of interest. Furthermore, by receiving "Research Guidanceh from their advising professor, students can receive fine-tuned, personal, or one-on-one guidance once a week with a view toward writing their Master's thesis from their first year. We have also enhanced our intensive program, where front-line researchers and practitioners from European countries and the U.S. are invited. This provides a prime opportunity for students to hone their knowledge.
Business Law
We have established four programs whose demand is particularly high (legal affairs on human resources and labor, intellectual property, taxes and finance), while providing a curriculum whose contents are divided into four tiers. These curriculum courses are taught by lawyers, patent attorneys, certified public accountants, tax accountants, consultants and think tank researchers who are working at the cutting edge of practice. Students who complete the requirements will be awarded a Master's degree (in business law) for those taking the Master's Program, or a Doctoral degree (in business law) for those taking the Doctor's Program during the second half of their studies.

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