Is it worth studying a joint Japanese studies and Law degree

Im mostly interested in doing this Japanese and Law as an undergraduate for uni mainly because i wish to live in japan in the future and i want a source of income there, i was thinking if i study law in the uk is that valid for working in japan and also if thats not a good idea whats better honestly im totally confused i just want to know what to do

Reply 1

Surafel1

Some law firms have office’s internationally and in your case JAPAN so you could probably move to Japan through your law firm

Reply 2

PentorH

Original post by Surafel1

Some law firms have office’s internationally and in your case JAPAN so you could probably move to Japan through your law firm

would that still align with my interest of wanting to live there completely one day, like can it lead to a permanent residence or only as long as i have work visa from the company

Reply 3

Stiffy Byng

A law degree from a UK university would not equip you to practise Japanese law in Japan, which has a legal system distinctly different from the legal systems of the UK. As noted above, however, some international law firms have offices in Japan. Lawyers in such offices may practise UK/Commonwealth/US law to provide services to Japanese clients with business interests in the Anglosphere.

If you wished to qualify as a Japanese lawyer you would need to take whatever steps are appropriate to do so, probably by studying in Japan. I don't know anything about how non-Japanese citizens can obtain permanent residence in Japan, but there might be information about that on the website of the Japanese government.

You might wish to study Japanese first and then look into obtaining a Japanese legal qualification.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Japan-immigration/On-topic-Japan-s-challenges-in-boosting-immigration

Reply 4

Stiffy Byng

I add that Japan's legal system is a civil law system with a fair chunk of German influence. I could if you wish summarise the difference between a common law system and a civil law system, but that may be something with which you are already familiar.

Reply 5

katana10000

If you move with a UK or US law firm to Japan, so long as you continue to work for them you can pretty much live there indefinitely. If you marry a Japanese citizen that should also entitle you to residence , I believe.

Reply 6

PentorH

Original post by Stiffy Byng

That would be very helpful if you could thank you

Reply 7

katana10000

Have you been to Japan previously? It’s an amazing place to visit but my friends who live there sometime find it challenging to live in an expat “bubble”.

Reply 8

PentorH

Original post by katana10000

Have you been to Japan previously? It’s an amazing place to visit but my friends who live there sometime find it challenging to live in an expat “bubble”.

I can see how it would be challenging, I haven’t been before but I plan to take a gap year in Japan to study at a language school so I’ll experience it then. Is there no way to escape that expat bubble

Reply 9

Stiffy Byng

Original post by PentorH

That would be very helpful if you could thank you

The law of the Roman Republic and Empire (later the Byzantine Empire) underpins the legal systems of most European countries and of those non-European counties which were colonised by or influenced by European countries.

Most European countries have what are called civil or civilian legal systems. Civilian in this context means the secular law of the State as opposed to the law of the Christian church. As Medieval European states developed, their rulers sought to place secular legal systems above church legal systems.

Civilian legal systems are influenced by Roman law, and by the customary laws of the ancient peoples who formed the country in question. They are codified systems, heavy on legislation, in which case law is not irrelevant but is less important than it is in a common law legal system.

In France, for example, the Code Napoleon, the legal code issued by Napoleon Bonaparte after he hijacked the post-Revolutionary Government and became Emperor of the French remains the base for French law.

Civilian law systems are found in many non-European countries which were colonised by civilian law European countries.

Japan was given a new Constitution and legal system by the Allies after the defeat of Japan in WW2. Its legal system has German and some French influences.

In England and Wales, medieval rulers also sought to place secular laws above the laws of the church, but they took a different route to their Continental counterparts. English law does have some Roman law influences, but is also derived from Anglo-Saxon customary law, and from what became known as the common law, which started to develop under the Norman and Angevin Monarchs after 1066. A common law legal system is (in the modern age) also legislation-heavy, but it is not codified, and it is heavily dependent on law developed by Judges on a case by case basis.

Common law legal systems are found in most but not all places where the British rule or used to rule. Thus the USA, Ireland, Hong Kong, and most of the Commonwealth have common law legal systems (the one in Hong Kong is under threat from China, which has decided to tear up the Sino-British Accord under which China resumed the government of Hong Kong in 1997).

Scotland has a mixture of a civil law system and a common law system, with a strong Roman/Dutch influence. Jersey and Guernsey and the Isle of Man have hybrids of common law with Norman/Manx customary law. Former British colonies and protectorates in Southern Africa have hybrids of common law and Roman/Dutch law and local customary law. Mauritius has a hybrid of common law and French law (because it was colonised by the French and the British).

Islamic countries don't do the church vs state thing - the state and the religion are inseparable - and Sharia law is embedded in the law of Islamic states, but in other respects the law of such states is sometimes close to either a civilian or a common law system.