While Monbetsu in Hokkaido and Ishigaki in Okinawa are separated by thousands of kilometers, the efforts of bar associations in the two cities have garnered one common attribute — a supply of lawyers available to residents needing legal advice.

Until April, residents of Monbetsu, a fishing city in Hokkaido on the Okhotsk Sea, had to travel 140 km inland to the city of Asahikawa to see a lawyer.

Ishigaki islanders faced a similar situation, with their legal resources restricted to two aging lawyers who were no longer active.