Colin P.A. Jones - The Japan Times

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Colin P.A. Jones

For Colin P.A. Jones's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

May 14, 2017

Testing time for the Constitution at 70

So you fancy yourself as a scholar on Japan's supreme law? Try testing your knowledge of the Constitution's birth with this quiz.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES

Apr 22, 2017

'Second-Best Justice: The Virtues of Japanese Private Law': Championing mediocrity in the courts

Ignore the irony of a tenured Harvard professor railing against the pursuit of excellence and employment security and J. Mark Ramseyer's book is fun and enlightening.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Apr 12, 2017

Japanese people v. the United States et al

Stories of the Japanese people whom fate — and, more often than not, citizenship — brought before America's highest court.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Mar 12, 2017

Who gains from corporate governance in Japan?

Perhaps managers need to channel the spooky kid from 'The Sixth Sense' and start seeing shareholders everywhere, because that is probably closest to social reality in Japan.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Feb 5, 2017

No country for old emperors

Brushing over precedents and kicking looming threats down the line, a government-appointed panel has dutifully paved the way for a politically convenient one-off abdication.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Jan 15, 2017

Examining a year in the life of the country's Diet

When not trying to get elected, Japan's 700-plus Diet members (475 in the House of Representatives, 242 in the House of Councilors) conduct the weighty business of the nation. With the 193rd session of the national legislature under the current Constitution scheduled to commence on Jan. 20, let's look back on what this august body accomplished in 2016.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues

Dec 4, 2016

Japan's Board of Audit: unlikely guardians of the Constitution?

On Nov. 7, an annual ritual of government occurred: The Board of Audit delivered its report on the results of its audit of government accounts for the previous fiscal year (April 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016) to the Cabinet. The 1,123-page paper brick handed over to His Abe-ness identified billions of yen's worth of improper expenditures or accounting and trillions of yen's worth of things that could be done more efficiently. On Nov. 18 the Cabinet submitted the report to the Diet, and perhaps sometime next summer the legislature will debate what it all means.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Nov 9, 2016

So-called egalitarian Japan is still honor-bound

Abolished and later resurrected system of awards may shape as well as reflect trends in society.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Oct 9, 2016

9/11: the day Japan's Supreme Court went (slightly) postal

How the Supreme Court dealt with its mail problem says much about the way the law works in Japan.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Sep 28, 2016

Renho nationality furor exposes Japan's deeply embedded gender bias

Decades after her birth, Renho is still being punished for having a Japanese parent who was female, not male.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Aug 28, 2016

Japan fumbles for the legal path to an 'Emprexit'

The obvious route to allowing Emperor Akihito's abdication would involve amending the Imperial Household Law, not constitutional change.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Aug 7, 2016

Japan's Minor Offenses Act has major untapped potential

Law has the teeth to tackle everything from peeing and posters to more serious matters.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Jul 10, 2016

Japan's discriminatory koseki registry system looks ever more outdated

Once part of a panopticon-like system in which everyone would feel that they were being monitored but could also participate in the monitoring process, the kosei is now showing its age.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Jun 22, 2016

Japan's koseki system: dull, uncaring but terribly efficient

Family registry system can seem schizophrenic but its authority keeps citizens out of the courts.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

May 8, 2016

Does the Japanese Constitution mean anything?

If the Liberal Democratic Party gets its way, the current charter, full of rights that are barely known, would be replaced with a constitution that's more about duties.

Japan Times

LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL

Apr 18, 2016

In-out distinction raises linguistic issues for Japan's long-term 'inside outsiders'

In this culture, some basic distinctions are made between those who are Japanese and those who are not — differences reflected in both law and language.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Apr 17, 2016

Two years after Japan signed Hague, children have been returned but old issues remain

A couple of years have passed since Japan signed the international convention on child abduction, and there is cause for celebration — and concern.

Japan Times

LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL

Mar 21, 2016

Lessons in history and bureaucracy lurk within Japan's geographical layer cake

Although in English we say Japan has 47 prefectures, Japanese uses four terms to express the same concept. And that's just for starters.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND

Mar 13, 2016

Making an impression in Japan: a hanko primer

Everything you wanted to know about chops, from cheapo ¥100-shop seals to the Privy Seal of Japan, which is wielded by the Emperor and hewn from pure gold.

Japan Times

LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL

Feb 8, 2016

Words about sentences: the Japanese vocab of crime and punishment

Navigating the terms and kanji involved in the penal process in Japan can be a trial in itself.

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.

Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Leading Japan’s sustainability from Tokyo

Leading Japan’s sustainability from Tokyo

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