"Introduction — Community and the Law: A Critical Reassessment of American Liberalism and Japanese Modernity" [2010] ELECD 151; in Tanase, Takao; Nottage, Luke; Wolff, Leon (eds), "Community and the Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010)

Book Title: Community and the Law

Editor(s): Tanase, Takao; Nottage, Luke; Wolff, Leon

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848447851

Section: Chapter 1

Section Title: Introduction — Community and the Law: A Critical Reassessment of American Liberalism and Japanese Modernity

Number of pages: 12

Extract:

1. Introduction ­ community and the law:
a critical reassessment of American
liberalism and Japanese modernity

This book analyses Japan's legal order from a communitarian perspective. The
analysis, however, is not restricted to Japan. Indeed, a central concern of this
book is to direct the critical gaze of legal sociology to issues confronting all
liberal legal orders in comparison to the Japanese context ­ not least, modern
society in the United States. Although each of the chapters in this volume
presents distinct arguments and may be read in any order without detracting
from an understanding of the book's themes, this Introduction collects together
the elements of communitarianism and sketches its broad theoretical features.
Many in Japan have misgivings about communitarianism. The suspicion is
that it cloaks a reactionary attempt to revive the old ways. In part, this wari-
ness is attributable to Japan's unique experience with modernisation. Despite
the adoption of Western law and the establishment of a modern nation-state
during the Meiji period, traditional social practices have continued to thrive
and obstruct the reception of law in Japan. Thus, the debate on communitari-
anism has been shaped by hegemonic narratives disclaiming the traditional
order and proclaiming a law-based society. The legal profession, with its priv-
ileged access to the law, and the bureaucracy, with its top-down approach to
modernisation, have been particularly instrumental in internalising this
discourse in Japan.
At the same time, those in positions of power have resisted embedding law
in society. Japanese ...