Abstract
This article examines various moments in the constitutional rights of foreigners in Japan. Beginning with the drafting of the Japanese Constitution, it shows how Japanese members of the drafting committee did not passively accept whatever their American counterparts “foisted” on them, but quite deliberately sculpted and limited the reach of the Constitution through word choice and selective translation. It then examines several lawsuits, from the 1970s to the 2000s, where foreigners have asserted various rights in Japanese courts. In the absence of constitutional rights, foreigners must rely on Japanese statutory law, guided by international law, to buttress their claims to various entitlements.
Keywords
Constitution, rights of non-citizens, translation, synchronic, diachronic
Publication Date
2006
Document Type
Article
Place of Original Publication
Cornell International Law Journal
Publication Information
39 Cornell International Law Journal 435 (2006)
Repository Citation
Webster, Timothy, "NOTE: Legal Excisions: The Rights of Foreigners in Japan" (2006). Faculty Publications. 554.
https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/faculty_publications/554
