Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-ndmmz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-14T20:04:38.804Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

15 - Free Speech Jurisprudence in Japan

The Influence of Comparative Constitutional Law*

from Part V - Multidisciplinary Debates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 January 2021

Shinji Higaki
Affiliation:
Fukuoka University
Yuji Nasu
Affiliation:
Seinan Gakuin University
Get access

Summary

This chapter examines how foreign legal doctrine has affected constitutional judicial review in cases involving freedom of expression in Japan. Academics have studied free speech in the context of comparative law because the current constitutional law in Japan, enacted under the instruction of General Headquarters by United States, and the former Meiji Constitution were both influenced by the German Constitution. In the early years of the current Constitution, the Japanese Supreme Court took a ‘public interest’ approach, absent any constitutional standard. Some have proposed a change to this situation, recommending the introduction of a US-style constitutional standard. However, the Supreme Court has not taken that standard to heart. On the commencement of a new law school system in Japan, other scholars advocated the German ‘proportionality’ principle because they thought that it better suited to Japanese case law. However, detailed examination of that case law suggests that the Supreme Court took neither approach. In this chapter, the author seeks to reveal the true nature of the doctrine employed in the constitutional cases and to explore the issue of hate speech from the perspective of this controversy over free speech.

Type
Chapter
Information
Hate Speech in Japan
The Possibility of a Non-Regulatory Approach
, pp. 341 - 362
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×