This course is in succession to the TokyoTechX "Basic Japanese Civil Law", which covered concepts common to many countries, such as sovereignty, constitution, separation of three powers, basic human rights, and personal safety. The course considers current issues in Japan, such as those faced in daily life from a legal perspective based upon laws and related methods. This course teaches Japanese civil law in more detail related to contemporary problems. The course starts with a review of the civil code and covers cancellation of contracts, intellectual property, internet-related legal issues, cashless transactions, bankruptcy, torts, and protection of the elderly.
Topics covered in this course are consumer contract, credit, cooling-off periods, contracts, failure to perform contract obligations, remedies for contract failure, comparative negligence, elements of intellectual property (manageability, controllability, exclusivity, and disposability); strategies for intellectual property, law related to the Internet, defamation on SNS, disclosure of personal information, privacy protection, e-commerce, cashless payments, collateral (mortgages, pledge, rights of retention, statutory liens, ownership transfer, accord, satisfaction reservation, temporary registration guarantee, deposit collateral, proxy receipt, and factoring); guaranty, consumer bankruptcy, tort by company, new problems related to torts like accidents of autonomous driving car, AI and robotics, unscientific judges, the elderly in Japan, adult guardianship, inheritance, and digital transformation.
After each unit in this course, the participant is requested to answer a quiz questions, ranging from easy to difficult, both ungraded and graded for those that purchase a certificate. The purpose of each quiz is to check learner's understanding with respect to Japanese civil law.
The lecturer of this course, Dr. Hironao Kaneko is an associate professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. His research interests are in electronic evidence, bankruptcy law, civil procedure law, and consumer law. He teaches courses such as "Law (Civil Law)", and "Graduate Lecture in Politics, Law and Administration" among others at Tokyo Tech.
Learning Japanese civil law is not only relevant when living in Japan, but also enables learners to study more about contemporary Japanese culture and its relationship with civil law, because law is affected by the culture of a country. By comparing it to the law of various countries, you can understand cultures in the world more deeply.
Acknowledgment
Special thanks to Mr. Stephen Mason, barrister and Associate Research Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London, UK for reviewing parts of this revised course.
