Speech Transcripts

Honourable Ministers and Attorney Generals of the AALCO Members,
Professor Dr Kennedy Gastorn, Secretary-General of AALCO,
Mr. Miguel de Serpa Soares, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel,
Professor Masahiko Asada, President of Japanese Society of International Law,
Distinguished delegates, it is a great pleasure to speak to you at the 57th AALCO General Meeting.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Meiji Restoration, which was a starting point of Japan's modernization. One of the most difficult challenges for the modern Japan was the revision of treaties, which Japan had concluded with western countries, and which included unequal provisions like extraterritorial rights for foreigners and no tariff autonomy for Japan. As the condition for the revision, western nations demanded that Japan should introduce a legal system that would meet international standards. This was an essential but a very difficult job for Japan and it took almost 25 years to establish this new legal system. Japanese people then studied European laws such as British, French, and German, and tried to establish the best legal system that would not compromise the core part of Japanese tradition.

Let me take up the example of the Civil Code. The initial drafting of the new Civil Code was launched in 1871, only three years after the Meiji Restoration, by the first Minister of Justice, Eto Shimpei. It was a rather direct translation of the Napoleon Code, and it failed within a few years. The second, very important, effort was led by a French advisor, Gustave Émile Boissonade, who led a very excellent team of Japanese and who did a wonderful job, and it took almost 10 years to come up with a new draft. But it met with the opposition from the political circle that this would compromise Japan's societal and cultural values.

And then, the third effort started. That drafting process was led by a group of Japanese scholars, who had studied in England, France, and Germany. They came up with an alternative draft in 1896 that better respected Japan's societal and cultural background. This version proved to be successful, and at last, Japan's first Civil Code came into force in 1898. It was only one year before Japan's successful revision of the treaty; in 1899, Japan finally could revise the unequal treaty to some extent. I just spoke about the Civil Code but more or less the situation was similar for Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure Law, etc.

That kind of effort and the trouble we had in the past now provides us a very profound basis for Japan's efforts to provide legal assistance to other foreign countries. For the past 20 years, JICA has used this experience to help developing countries draft and implement their own laws. Today, the world has become more interconnected and the areas covered by international law have expanded. Efforts by developing countries to introduce new laws, like Civil Law, Intellectual Property Law, and Competition Law that are in harmony with relevant international legal frameworks are ever more important. With this in our mind, we have been supporting China, Indonesia, Cambodia, Mongolia, Nepal, Vietnam, Kenya, and some other Asian and African countries, in their efforts to introduce civil and commercial laws. In doing so, we have always looked back at our own experience of trial-and-error and have also made sure that partner countries themselves take the driver's seat as they, not we, draft their laws and regulations.

After the Meiji Restoration, Japan embraced international law and order for a long time. However, unfortunately, Japan began to challenge the international legal system and international cooperation in the 1930s, and went into the course of war. That was a terrible mistake on the part of Japan. But as Prime Minister Abe expressed on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, Japan, with its remorse for its past actions, is now committed to upholding and promoting the principle that any dispute must be settled peacefully and diplomatically based on respect for the rule of law and not through the use of force.

This principle of peaceful resolution of international disputes is the most important principle that was adopted by human beings after two devastating wars in the 20th century. We must not forget, we must cherish, we must support, we must strengthen this invaluable principle.

In coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, other ministries and agencies and the private sector, JICA will continue to promote this principle through our legal work and activities, as well as in other sectors that contribute to peace and prosperity.

I believe that the AALCO has an essential and crucial role to play in these efforts, and I look forward to seeing its presence grow on the world stage.

I would like to conclude my remarks by wishing everyone a very fruitful meeting today.