Reform has been carried out in the judicial system for criminal cases in recent years. But reform in the judicial system for civil affairs cases has been slow. There has been a call among legal professionals to improve the system for trials and court mediation related to problems that crop up in civil life. The government, the judiciary and lawyers need to make efforts that enable the judicial system to become more useful and convenient to citizens facing legal problems.
The biggest reform of the judicial system in postwar years was touched off by the council for judicial system reform, which was established under the Cabinet in 1999. Its reform proposals bore fruit in the form of the establishment of the lay judge system, law graduate schools and the Japan Legal Support Center. Also, as part of the reform efforts, a revision of the domestic relations trial procedure law went into force Jan. 1.
To cope with drastic changes in the social environment involving families, further law revisions will become necessary. Family courts are affected by such changes. The number of trials dealing with relations between husband and wife, and relations between parents and children has been rapidly increasing.