Digital Commons Network^™

Black Hole In The Rising Sun: Japan And The Hague Convention On Child Abduction, Paul Hanley

Paul Hanley

Despite Japan’s recent adoption of the the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Parental Abduction, great concern remains whether Japan is willing to comply with the legal obligations imposed by the Convention. This article examines Japan’s struggle with the issue of international child abduction, analyzing its traditional approach to family matters such as its “divorce by conference” system, which permits couples to negotiate issues of child custody and visitation without any judicial oversight or guidance. Further complicating matters, when a marriage ends in Japan, joint-custodial rights usually end, with only one parent getting physical custody of a child. …

Expert Seminar The Employment Relationship Beyond Eu And Across National Borders - Challenges And Responses Tuesday 11 March 2014, 09.15-16.00, Michele Faioli

Michele Faioli

No abstract provided.

Transformation Of Trust Ideas In Japan: Drafting Of The Trust Act 1922, Masayuki Tamaruya

Masayuki Tamaruya

No abstract provided.

Standard Of Proof For Patent Invalidation In The U.S. And Japan, Yoshinari Oyama

Yoshinari Oyama

In June 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed the standard of proof for patent invalidation in Microsoft Corp. v. i4i Limited Partnership, et al. The Court held that an invalidity defense to be proven by clear and convincing evidence rather than by a preponderance of the evidence and that burden is constant and never changes. Compared to the U.S. patent system, there is no heightened standard of proof required for patent invalidation in infringement suits in Japanese courts and the invalidation rate is high especially after Kilby cas in 2000, where the Japanese Supreme Court decided that a patentee could …

Do Japanese Trade Secret Laws Finally Work? A Comparative Analysis Of Japanese And U.S. Trade Secret Law, Travis A. Flynn

Travis A Flynn

This paper will explore and analyze trade secret law in Japan, and how the recent revisions to Japanese trade secret law compares to the doctrine generally followed in the United States. This analysis begins with a very brief examination of the historical differences between the two regions with respect to trade secret protection. The paper then goes into a comparative statutory analysis of the Japanese Trade Secret law, examining each of the “elements” of trade secret misappropriation and comparing those to how they are applied in the United States. The next section examines the remedies and penalties available in Japan …

The Influence Of Self-Owned Home Blood Pressure Monitoring (Hbpm) On Primary Care Patients With Hypertension: A Qualitative Study, Adina Abdullah

Adina Abdullah

Background: Home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) is gaining popularity among hypertensive patients. This study aimed to explore the influence of self-initiated HBPM on primary care patients with hypertension. Methods: Six in-depth interviews and two focus group discussions were conducted, taking into consideration the experiences of 24 primary care patients with hypertension. These patients had been using HBPM as part of their hypertension management. The overriding influences were grouped under themes which emerged from analyzing the data using the grounded theory approach. Results: There are both positive and negative influences of self-initiated HBPM. Patients used the readings of their HBPM to …

Smoked Success? Social, Cultural, And Legal Changes In The United States, Japan, And France Have Led To A Decline In Tobacco Use. Yet, Teenagers Refuse To Budge!, Dalila V. Hoover

Dalila V Hoover

Once considered a part of everyday life, tobacco consumption has become a global public health crisis that has transcended national borders. By the end of 2011, tobacco will have killed nearly six million people, including more than 600,000 of people exposed to tobacco smoke. If current smoking patterns continue, the toll will nearly double by 2030 with more than 8 million deaths. To safeguard the public’s health, the United States, Japan, and France have taken action to change the acceptability of smoking. Although they have adopted a different approach, they have successfully altered and redefined their cultural perception of tobacco …

Environmental Research With Undergraduates In East Asia: Collaborations In China And Japan, Gary A. Morris, Jon Schoer

Gary A. Morris

China: From 2007-2008 as part of a collaborative research project funded by the ASIANetwork, VU and the VLACD, 5 VU students (2 chemistry, 1 biology, 1 environmental science, and 1 civil engineering) spent 3 weeks in Zhejiang province, China and 7 additional weeks in northwest Indiana comparing and contrasting water quality issues and attitudes in the two regions. While in China, the students interacted with one another and graduate students, faculty, and staff from Zhejiang University and Zhejiang A &F University, and with multiple local & regional officials and residents to collect water quality data and opinions about key water …

Modern Rail Innovation In Japan, Sakdirat Kaewunruen

Sakdirat Kaewunruen

This presentation was invited by Engineers Australia to discuss the importance of railway experience in Japan. Abstract: Rail transport has become one of the most desirable and environmental-friendly means for mass transportation, especially when the up-and-coming peak oil crisis has threatened and discredited many other modes of transport (including traditional car vehicles, trucks, and air planes) from being economical, efficient and sustainable. In this presentation, the modern rail systems in Japan, which cover metro, local and high speed rails, will be discussed together with the infrastructure development, network strategy, ticketing and sources of revenues. Because Japan is the pioneer of …

The Dao Of Privacy, Lara A. Ballard

Lara A Ballard

It is widely believed in some Western circles that a single multilateral human rights treaty, based largely on European models for data protection, can standardize a right to privacy on a global basis. It is also widely believed that East Asia has no real tradition of privacy. Both of these beliefs are mistaken. This Article explores the underlying philosophical assumptions beneath Western concepts of privacy that currently prevail on both sides of the Atlantic, by examining privacy through the lens of classical Daoism and the Northeast Asian philosophical tradition. Taking a cue from Professor Julie Cohen’s Configuring the Networked Self, …

Review Of The Book Imposing Peace And Prosperity: Australia, Social Justice And Labour Reform In Occupied Japan By C. De Matos, Leon Wolff

Leon Wolff

Extract:

Christine de Matos finds little evidence of an Australia imprint on Occupation policy on Japan. If anything, Australia’s policy legacy on post-war Japan was “negligible” (p. 151): its proposals for structural reform were “neglected” (p.147); its practical policy inputs “arbitrary” (p. 74); and its engagement in Occupation control machinery a mere “preten[ce] to Allied cooperation and policy contributions” (p.74). This hardly is a promising basis for a book-length inquiry into Australia’s involvement in “imposing peace and prosperity in Occupied Japan”.

The Japanese Constitution As Law And The Legitimacy Of The Supreme Court’S Constitutional Decisions: A Response To Matsui, Craig Martin

Craig Martin

This article, from a conference at Washington University School of Law on the Supreme Court of Japan, responds to an article by Shigenori Matsui, “Why is the Japanese Supreme Court is so conservative?” Professor Matsui’s article makes the argument that a significant factor is the extent to which the judges fail to view the Constitution as positive law requiring judicial enforcement. It is novel in its emphasis on an explanation grounded in law, and the decision-making process, rather than the political, institutional, and cultural explanations that are so often offered. In this article, Borrowing from Kermit Roosevelt’s arguments on judicial …

E-Elections: Time For Japan To Embrace Online Campaigning, Matthew J. Wilson

Matthew J. Wilson

Asia has embraced the Internet and social media. Japan and South Korea rank among the world’s leaders in technological innovation and Internet penetration. China boasts over 420 million Internet users, and other Asian countries have experienced the widespread acceptance of online technologies. With the rapid ascendency of the Internet and social media, however, Asian countries have sometimes struggled with striking the proper balance between individual rights and the legal regulation of online activities. One prime example of such struggle involves the clash between Japan’s election laws and individual political freedoms.

Although Japan generally subscribes to democratic traditions and the principle …

Glimmers Of Hope: The Evolution Of Equality Rights Doctrine In Japanese Courts From A Comparative Perspective, Craig Martin

Craig Martin

There has been little study of the analytical framework employed by the Japanese courts in resolving constitutional claims under the right to be treated as an equal and not be discriminated against. In the Japanese literature the only comparative analysis done focuses on American equal protection jurisprudence. This article examines the development of the equality rights doctrine in the Japanese Supreme Court from the perspective of an increasingly universal “proportionality analysis” approach to rights enforcement, of which the Canadian equality rights jurisprudence is a good example, in contrast to the American approach. This comparative analysis, which begins with a review …

An Examination Of The Impact Of Air From China On Summertime Air Quality In Japan Before, During, And After The Beijing Olympics, Gary A. Morris, Hajime Akimoto, Masayuki Takigawa, Jun Hirokawa, Fumio Hasebe, Masatomo Fujiwara, Koji Miyagawa, Nicholay Krotkov, Jacquie Witte, Yugo Kanaya, Nathan Kellams, Ted Pietrzak

Gary A. Morris

During July – September 2008 pollution controls in China associated with the Beijing Olympics led to emissions reductions of up to 43%, as observed by NASA satellite instruments. Pollution from China has an impact on air quality throughout East Asia. In this poster, we examine the impact of China's pollution on Japan through the use of Aura satellite data (2005 – 2009), ozonesonde data (2000 – 2009), and data from air quality surface monitors (2000 – 2009). We also examine the year-to-year variability in meteorological flow regimes through trajectory model simulations of transport to Japan from the areas around Beijing …

Binding The Dogs Of War: Japan And The Constitutionalizing Of Jus Ad Bellum, Craig Martin

Craig Martin

There is still very little constitutional control over the decision to use armed force, and very limited domestic implementation of the international principles of jus ad bellum, notwithstanding the increasing overlap between international and domestic legal systems and the spread of constitutional democracy. The relationship between constitutional and international law constraints on the use of armed force has a long history. Aspects of constitutional theory, liberal theories of international law, and transnational process theory of international law compliance, suggest that constitutional design could legitimately be used as a pre-commitment device to lock-in jus ad bellum principles, and thereby enhance compliance …

Public Awareness Of Human Rights: Distortions In The Mass Media, Eric Heinze, Rosa Freedman

Prof. Eric Heinze, Queen Mary University of London

This article examines distortions of human rights reporting in the mass media. We examine human rights coverage in four of the most influential newspapers, two from the US and two from the UK. The US papers are The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. The British papers are The Financial Times and The Guardian.

Most current scholarship on international human rights draws its information from specialized sources, such as the published reports of intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations. Wholly absent has been any systematic study of the mass media. To date, no one has examined the dominant media agencies, …

Saiban In Seido: Lost In Translation?, Douglas G. Levin

Douglas G Levin

Japan plans to reintroduce a jury system in 2009. While most law review articles to date have focussed on the particular procedures of the proposed system as well as the implications of introducing a jury system in a stereotypically passive culture, this article proposes that the source of power underlying the proposed system will ultimately determine its fate. In short, for the proposed lay assessor system to achieve its goal of promoting democracy, its power must derive from the people rather than the government. Furthermore, Japan must consider fundamental changes to its criminal justice system so that its lay assessor …

2015 And The Rise Of China: Power Cycle Analysis And The Implications For Australia, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

Research undertaken at the University of South Australia has produced a reformulated power cycle theory which balances both military and economic capabilities of actors, producing a graphical representation of the relative distribution of power. For the period between 2000 and 2030, this model suggests that China will continue to rise in power at the expense of the United States, achieving power parity in 2014 and overtaking the sole remaining superpower in 2015. This article introduces the power cycle method, extrapolates forecasts from collected sampling and suggests implications for Australia of an international environment where its principal ally is no longer …

Japan And Transformation Of National Identities In The Imperial Era, Li Narangoa, Robert Cribb

Robert Cribb

Japan's view of the nationality of its Asian neightbours took many forms during the imperial era. In some respects Japan asserted its superiority to those neighbours, in other respects saw them as nations with a standing equal to that of Japan. The working out of these two views reflected Japanese strategic interests.

Environmentalism In Indonesian Politics, Robert Cribb

Robert Cribb

Environmential politics emerged in Indonesia during the autheoritarian Suharto era. Rather than being a reaction to Suharto's predatory approach to the environment, many environmental policies were closely tied to the managerial, technocratic and campaign-oriented approach of the New Order.

Remembering, Forgetting And Historical Injustice, Robert Cribb, Kenneth Christie

Robert Cribb

No abstract provided.

Self-Defense: The Equalizer, David B. Kopel, Linda Gorman

David B Kopel

Experiments in tightening gun-control laws have eroded the right of self defense and failed to stop serious crime. Studies Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

Book Review. United States Japan Foreign Trade, Jo Bell Whitlatch

Jo Bell Whitlatch

No abstract provided.