Attorneys in Japan

In Japan, attorneys at law (弁護士) form the base of the country's legal community.

Historically, Japanese customs instituted an avoidance of legal involvement, based upon Confucian doctrines, and Japanese principles of harmony; anyone brought before a court for a criminal or civil matter suffered public and private humiliation, since they disrupted harmony. By the 19th century, references began to appear in Japanese literature on the role of "European style" lawyers. No legal training was required to be a daigennin.

With several minor exceptions, attorneys at law are required to pass a national bar examination (司法試験) followed by one year of internship, supervised by the Legal Research and Training Institute (司法研修所) of the Supreme Court of Japan. Candidates who complete the qualification process are bengoshi, and are permitted to wear a lapel pin of a balance surrounded by a sunflower, respectively symbolizing justice/liberty (sunflower) and fairness/equality (balance). There were 72 law schools as of July 2013 in Japan. Applications to law schools in Japan have been declining sharply, from approximately 70,000 applicants in 2004 to approximately 20,000 in 2015. This is due to the high tuition, difficulty of finding employment, and the increased enrollment in pre examination. The types of quasi lawyers are patent agents (benrishi), tax agents (zerishi), judicial scriveners (shiho shoshi), and administrative scriveners (gyosei shoshi).

Before 2006, the bar examination consisted of three stages. The first stage, held in May, consisted of 60 multiple choice questions regarding constitutional law, civil law and criminal law. The second stage, held over two days in July, consisted of twelve essay questions regarding constitutional law, civil law, criminal law, commercial law, civil procedure law and criminal procedure law. The final stage, held in October, was an oral examination regarding constitutional law, civil law, criminal law, civil procedure law and criminal procedure law. Final results were published in mid November. On average, 40,000–50,000 people took the first stage, 7,000–8,000 qualified for the second stage, and only 1,500 qualified for the oral examination each year. In 2006, a new bar examination was instituted with only two stages. The first stage is a one day short answer examination concerning the six laws as well as administrative law. The second stage is a three day essay examination concerning public law, civil law and criminal law, as well as subjects that can be selected by the examinee (including labor law, environmental law, public international law, and private international law). In addition, a law school requirement was introduced. All bar examination participants must complete a two or three year graduate law program, and are limited to taking the examination within five years after graduation. Those who have not graduated from law school may take the bar examination after passing a preliminary qualifying examination ("Yobi Shiken"). But passing a preliminary exam is still a minor path and most people are from law school. In 2015, the pass rate for the pre examination was 3%. This path allows to skip law school and thus avoid paying high tuition. The Japanese Bar exam is known as one of the most difficult exams in the world. Although the bar pass rates are getting higher after the structural reform in 2006, only around 20% of the law school graduates pass the bar. Therefore, the top law schools in Japan are competing with each other by achieving higher bar pass rate. Students can attempt to pass the bar only five times, after which they are disqualified. Until 2013, they could attempt the bar examination only three times. Most students study at independent private schools in order to pass the bar examination, in addition to law school. The average age of those passing the bar examination is 28–29 years old.

Those who have passed the bar examination participate in a one year training process for studying practical skills (the skills for judges, prosecutors, and lawyers) in the LTRI. The training at the LTRI consists of (1) collective training (classes in the classroom); and (2) field training (e. g., apprentices to judges, prosecutors, law offices, etc.). The LTRI focuses on teaching the litigation skills. When the students pass the final examination (nikai shiken) at the LTRI, they become lawyers, prosecutors, or judges. Prosecutors and judges are handpicked by the LTRI.

In addition to passing the bar exam, an attorney must also be a member of the bar association (弁護士会) for the prefecture where the law office is located. According to a 2008 survey by the Japanese Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA), 39.4% of all lawyers belong to the three Tokyo bar associations (Tokyo Bar Association, First Tokyo Bar Association, and Second Tokyo Bar Association). comprising about 18% of Japanese lawyers.

A total of 412 foreign law attorneys were registered as of April 1, 2018. Before World War II, attorneys qualified in foreign countries could join a Japanese bar with special permission from the Supreme Court. These individuals were referred to as quasi members (準会員) of the bar. None remain in practice today. The quasi membership was abolished by judicial reforms in 1955, and there are 775 law firms who joined the bar in this capacity as of August 2014.