Selecting cases: themes

There have been a few consistent themes among CALL4 cases since the site was launched with three cases in 2019. One concerns the treatment of sexual minorities. The 2019 launch followed closely after the coordinated filing of suits in four different courts on behalf of 13 same-sex couples whose marriage applications had been denied.Footnote ⁶ As the “Freedom of Marriage for All” litigation has proceeded through the courts since then, CALL4 crowdfunding has raised more than 7 million yen in support.

But the impact has been even greater than just the funds raised. Taniguchi tells me that when the first court judgment came down—a Sapporo District Court ruling that held denial of marriage to same-sex couples is unconstitutional—so many people logged on that the website crashed. When the first appellate court judgment upholding same-sex marriage appeared in March 2024, supporters rushed to CALL4 again.Footnote ⁷ Igeta rejoices: “The day we uploaded the court opinion, more than a thousand people read the text. This is the first time in Japanese history that so many people read a court judgment at the same time.”Footnote ⁸ The court’s judgment would be widely studied and debated. This is precisely the effect CALL4 was looking for.

Japan’s courts generally do not publish their judgments, and news reports tend to be fragmentary and are soon replaced by fresher stories. But once CALL4 uploads court documents, they remain accessible. Moreover, by reading actual court judgments, anyone can see for themselves exactly what the courts have said.

Another common theme concerns ill treatment of detainees in immigration detention facilities. In interviews and public speeches, CALL4 co-founder Taniguchi frequently recounts his own experience representing the family of a Ghanian man who died while being restrained by immigration officials as they attempted to force his deportation at Narita Airport. Taniguchi brought a suit for compensation on behalf of the family and was successful at the district court, but the award of compensation was overturned by an appellate court. He worked on this case for 6 years, but his efforts yielded nothing.Footnote ⁹ Today, several other cases involving claimed maltreatment of detainees are reported on the CALL4 site, including detainees from Sri Lanka, Cameroon, Nepal, and other countries.Footnote ¹⁰

The site also features cases that bring attention to maltreatment of inmates at prisons and Japan’s infamous “hostage justice” system in which individuals charged with a crime who do not confess often spend many months in detention as their cases slowly move forward.Footnote ¹¹ CALL4 raised more than 2 million yen to support executives of the Ohkawa Kakoki company detained for nearly a year after they were charged with violating an export law. One of them died of cancer while in detention. Ultimately, the government dropped the case for lack of evidence, and the plaintiffs filed a civil suit. In May 2025, Tokyo High Court upheld an award of 160 million yen in compensation. The government did not appeal. In a very rare act of contrition, senior prosecutors and police executives publicly apologized to the victims in August, 2025.Footnote ¹²

CALL4 also supports several other cases that raise issues related to lengthy detentions and maltreatment of suspects and inmates.

Selecting cases: requirements

The CALL4 footprint has steadily grown from the 3 cases selected in 2019 to more than 80 cases reported on the website today. Among them, 16 cases were added in 2024.Footnote ¹³ In a society of more than 100 million people, the potential range of public interest cases is endless. However, CALL4’s capacity is not. How does the CALL4 team select the cases that appear on their website?

There are several basic requirements.Footnote ¹⁴ The most fundamental is that the case concerns litigation of broad public interest. CALL4 does not support cases in which a particular litigant presents claims specific to themselves without a broader dimension. Another requirement is that the partes involved are making a serious commitment. First of all, this means that an attorney has been appointed who is capable of pursuing the case and agrees to provide case records to the CALL4 website. The case must have already been filed in court or filing must be imminent. Underscoring the public interest nature, the opposing party must be a national or local government entity; CALL4 does not support cases that solely involve private parties. Finally, except for extraordinary cases, litigants and their support groups are responsible for creating and maintaining crowdfunding pages.

CALL4’s overall goal is broader and more profound than just providing support to individual cases. The group seeks to “invigorate the field” by “linking public litigation and citizens” and thus rejuvenate the process of public interest litigation itself. To achieve this, they seek to build a broad community of people who understand the significance of public interest litigation and want to support individuals with the courage and strength to bring their cases to court.

The CALL4 community

On September 27–28, 2024, the group celebrated its fifth anniversary at a 2-day gathering at the sleek, ultramodern Shibaura House in central Tokyo designed by famed architect Kazuyo Sejima.Footnote ¹⁵ The site selection matches the group’s strategy of creating a cool image to attract allies and supporters.

The 2024 edition of the annual event began with a discussion of the state of the law featuring a recently retired Supreme Court justice and a celebrated legal scholar but moved on to an agenda that featured younger participants, including a discussion of same-sex marriage featuring a young attorney deeply involved in litigation, a discussion between two novelists who expounded on their first experience observing a courtroom trial, and even a game featuring “CALL4 Cards” and a calligraphy workshop focused on characters for individual rights. Despite the seriousness of the subject matter, the goal was to create a lively atmosphere to be enjoyed by all. Portions were broadcast over independent Internet media such as Politas TV.Footnote ¹⁶

The annual gathering is a special event, but CALL4 runs public events throughout the year, and supporters extend CALL4’s reach through Instagram and other social media sites. They have produced more than 70 podcasts and more than 60 videos on selected topics. Naturally, there are group visits to courthouses to observe trial sessions. Novelists and others who have never seen the inside of a courtroom before have written about their experiences as courtroom spectators.Footnote ¹⁷ Activities such as these are additional to the core function of reporting on and raising funds for specific cases.

How does CALL4 achieve all this? Taniguchi tells me that “students are our secret weapon.” Although there is a paid staff, a large portion of the workload is handled by volunteers. During a recent visit to Tokyo, I attended a Sunday offsite gathering where Taniguchi and Maruyama led about 30 volunteers through a series of group exercises focused on future updates to the website and event planning. Most of the attendees were in their 20s and current or recently graduated law students. You can see many of their names and photos on the CALL4 website together with brief inspirational messages. Demands for social change are a common theme. One volunteer tells us that “cases influence the judiciary, and the judiciary changes society,” another that CALL4 “seeks to create a bridge between the courtroom and society,” and another simply declares that “society can be changed.”Footnote ¹⁸

Practical questions

Although CALL4 succeeds in creating a lively atmosphere that inspires volunteers who help expand the website and get the word out, the hard work faced by plaintiffs and their attorneys charged with gathering evidence, drafting court submissions, and other work remains unchanged. Taking the government to a Japanese court is not for everyone. CALL4 warns potential plaintiffs in public interest cases that they are likely to spend a significant part of their lives in court as the wheels of justice slowly grind on.

In a section of the website titled “Public litigation 101,” CALL4 sets out some of the challenges public interest litigants face. Responding to a CALL4 survey, they identified three major obstacles to pursuing these cases: the long time period until conclusion, the cost, and the emotional burden. By its very nature, public interest litigation can attract the attention of the news media and many others. Many potential plaintiffs fear exposure to potential criticism and harassment. Another hurdle is the difficulty of finding capable attorneys.

Regarding the time required, CALL4 says that plaintiffs should expect that a case will require a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 10 years or more. They should expect that the government will appeal any adverse decision, going all the way to the Supreme Court. The 3-year minimum probably applies only to extraordinary cases where the government is under extreme pressure to resolve matters quickly owing to the very sympathetic nature of the parties. One such example cited by CALL4 is litigation filed on behalf of people afflicted with Hansen’s disease (leprosy), who challenged their enforced isolation and other discriminatory treatment. Even in this case, the plaintiffs were required to obtain a favorable court judgment before the government agreed to pay compensation. The District Court judgment came down in 2001, 3 years after the case was filed.Footnote ¹⁹

However, quick resolutions are rare. The reality is that litigants should be prepared to spend many more years before reaching a conclusion.

CALL4 also provides an overview of expected costs. Advice on the website suggests that for each attorney on their team, plaintiffs should budget a total of 300,000–1 million yen just for a district court trial. Their estimate is doubled for clients who pursue their cases all the way to the Supreme Court.Footnote ²⁰ Depending on the type of case, there will be additional costs for expert opinions and other evidence gathering and standard expenses for travel, copying, and other services.

Even for parties willing to commit to the time and able to raise the funds, there is the essential question of finding lawyers willing and able to take on a case. There is no registry of “public interest lawyers,” and there are few attorneys with relevant experience and the ability to take on such responsibility for little or no compensation. Japan’s public interest lawyers sometimes use the phrase “bengoshi no tebento,” meaning they work for free and may be paying expenses out of their own pockets. This is not a formula for success.

Is crowdfunding the answer?

Although the website provides an invaluable service by enabling lawyers, news reporters, and other interested parties to quickly access court records and other information, the crowdfunding feature is potentially of greatest value to litigants and their lawyers. The creators of CALL4 proclaim that this is the leading crowdfunding platform for public interest cases. Perhaps it is the only such platform.

At a celebration of its fifth anniversary in September 2024, CALL4 announced that it had raised a total of more than 100 million yen in donations since the launch.Footnote ²¹ The most recent annual report states that during the 2024 fiscal year (May 31, 2025 year-end), the CALL4 platform collected more than 1,700 donations that totaled more than 18 million yen for CALL4 cases. CALL4 does not collect a fee for its services. All donations are paid to the parties in litigation.Footnote ²²

According to numbers posted on the website in August 2025, CALL4 has raised more than 1 million yen for at least 28 cases, over 2 million for 13 cases, and over 3 million for 7 cases. Some of the standout examples include more than 8 million raised for litigation that demands social insurance coverage for sex workers, more than 7 million for the “Freedom of Marriage for All” litigation that demands legal recognition of same-sex marriage, and more than 5 million for litigation demanding recognition of separate surnames for married couples.Footnote ²³ In two of these cases, the number of donors exceeded 1,000.

The CALL4 case that has drawn the greatest financial support so far, however, does not seem to fit the mainstream of litigation seeking to defend individual rights. This was a case filed in 2021 by a big restaurant chain that challenged the constitutionality of restrictions on business operations during the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.Footnote ²⁴ More than 3,600 supporters donated a total of more than 25 million yen. Every restaurant owner in Japan surely had an eye on the case, and it appears that more than a few found the CALL4 website.

Leadership

The founders are experienced public interest lawyers themselves who know the life of long hours with limited funding battling against well-funded adversaries.Footnote ²⁵ After experiencing legal practice in Japan, they both traveled to the United States to seek inspiration from American society and legal practices. Introduced by mutual friends when they returned to Japan, they decided to join forces. They initially considered starting a law firm but decided this would not only require significant capital but would also probably repeat the old pattern and not make much of an impact.Footnote ²⁶

Igeta explains that as they discussed potential options, “we decided that the usual formula of working on cases, organizing events and sending out newsletters was not enough. We decided to make a ‘product’ that many could use and would have a life of its own.”Footnote ²⁷

In fact, Igeta had been giving very serious thought to the development of such a product. While studying in the United States, he noticed that attorneys use software packages to assist in managing their cases and preparing for negotiations and trial. After his return, he successfully established a company that provides similar software to Japanese attorneys for their ordinary law practices. From here it was not a great leap to imagine some kind of software product to assist lawyers working on public interest cases. However, there was an additional problem. To work on these cases, lawyers need some means to raise money to cover their costs.

Igeta and Taniguchi dropped the idea of starting a law firm and instead continued to think about a public interest law “product.” When they were ready, they rallied enough support to fund development of the open-access website that became CALL4.

The CALL4 founders clearly saw the importance of supporting public interest cases and they also found the software engineers to develop a highly functional website. With those building blocks in place, they confronted the problem of attracting an audience. This required the skills of someone experienced in public relations and marketing who could lead the development of an outreach program to the broader society.

They found this person in Orie Maruyama, who had enjoyed a successful career at Recruit, Japan’s recruiting, publishing, and marketing giant known for innovative business practices. Maruyama joined Recruit in 2002 and performed all kinds of writing, public relations, marketing, and other chores before she was appointed editor-in-chief of “Zexy,” Japan’s most popular wedding magazine.Footnote ²⁸

She went independent from the Recruit group in 2018 and began to consult with Taniguchi a year later. She took the title of vice representative in 2021 and joined Taniguchi as co-representative in 2023. She had no particular knowledge of the legal world before joining CALL4, but she felt “deeply moved by the plaintiffs’ earnest feelings and the stories of lawyers fighting for them.” She soon embraced the CALL4 mission. Maruyama sees public interest lawsuits as “seeds of change that can help us build a better society.”Footnote ²⁹

Maruyama brought extensive knowledge in media planning and design, feature development, and promotional sales strategies to the group. And her skills were not limited to print media; she was also the producer who brought the Zexy business online through websites, applications, and outreach through a range of digital media. She was the ideal partner to bring CALL4 to the next stage of its development.

Can public interest litigation succeed in Japan?

There is no doubt that CALL4 has provided meaningful support to a lot of people struggling to bring their cases to court, but real success will only follow if this results in court victories and social change.

According to a list published by the website, plaintiffs in nine cases supported by CALL4 enjoyed court victories in 2024, including a Supreme Court judgment issued in March.Footnote ³⁰ In that case, the Court overturned a High Court ruling that denied survivor’s benefits to a claimant in a same-sex relationship. The Supreme Court ruled that even though the partners did not have a legally recognized marriage, the survivor was entitled to compensation for loss when their partner died.Footnote ³¹

There were several 2024 judgments related to foreign detainees in Japan’s immigration centers, including a Tokyo High Court judgment in May that ordered payment of compensation owing to immigration officials’ negligent failure to call for an ambulance in a timely manner.

Regarding the campaign against “hostage justice,” in July 2024, a Tokyo District Court panel ordered payment of compensation for emotional distress to a criminal suspect who suffered from oppressive police interrogation practices.Footnote ³² In the same month, the Nagoya High Court ruled against the state security police, finding that police surveillance of a citizen group in Gifu was unlawful.Footnote ³³

As for the “Freedom of Marriage for All” campaign, plaintiffs in three separate cases enjoyed High Court victories in 2024 (Sapporo, Tokyo, and Fukuoka). They may be on the cusp of an ultimate victory in the Supreme Court.Footnote ³⁴

Although the effort to beat the government in court may require many years and much unpaid work, it sometimes results in favorable court judgments. Even then, all judgments, except for those issued by the Supreme Court, are subject to appeal.

The first article of Japan’s lawyers’ law declares that “An attorney is entrusted with the mission of protecting fundamental human rights and achieving social justice.”Footnote ³⁵ Many idealistic attorneys take this message to heart. CALL4 is one example of this ethos that drives Japan’s attorneys as agents of change in Japanese society.