“Situating Gender and Law in Japanese Legal Education: Preliminary exploration and comments,” by Mark Levin, Professor of Law, William S. Richardson School of Law, UH Mānoa

Seminar talk flyerIf the status of women in Japanese law and women in Japan more generally is to be meaningfully considered, circumstances demand qualitative and quantitative attention to inequities in the human institutions from which law derives. Unfortunately, this subject has received a relative lack of attention in our scholarship.Accordingly, this paper looks at the comparative history and status quo of women in legal education. We in the U.S. made great strides regarding inclusiveness of women and gender and law studies beginning from the 1970s, accelerating these into the 1980s. Though there is still much to be done better here too, it seems fair to say that we moved ahead of Japan where positive changes didn't gain much traction until the 1990s and there has been not enough at that even to the present day.I will explore how and ultimately, why, the two paths diverged so distinctly. I will posit, with humble recognition for the vital agency of women and feminist allies, that well-functioning programs for personnel, pedagogy, community, and scholarship by and for women in legal education can make things better for "women in the law” and "women and the law,” and further foster a less patriarchal society generally