Japan's labor tribunal system : a new paradigm of democratic justice?

The Labor Tribunal System (LTS) is a speedy, non-contentious tri-partite procedure established within Japan’s district courts (DC) to mediate or otherwise to suitably adjudicate individual labor disputes. The new tribunal is characterized as providing “triple-S justice”: “speedy,” the Labor Tribunal Act (LTA) requires disposal of cases within 3 sessions (article 15(2) of the LTA) and is premised on this taking up to three months; “specialized,” each case is handled by a labor tribunal committee (LTC), composed of two labor relations experts, and one career judge, all three of equal authority regarding the resolution of the dispute; and “suitable,” cases are to be resolved “in accordance with the circumstances of the case while taking into account the rights and interest between the parties” (article 1 of the LTA).

The LTA was introduced to cope with the multitude of employment disputes which were lacking an adequate judicial resolution forum. By providing such a forum, the LTS provides protection for the weak party in labor relations (often the worker) from abuse by the powerful party, and plays an institutional role in advancing democratization of labor relations. The law was enacted at the onset of the 21st century as part of a third wave of judicial reform that Japan underwent since its opening to the west (the previous two were related to the inauguration of the Meiji Constitution in 1890 and the democratization of Japan by the Allied Occupation after WWII and as such reflects Japan’s current democratization stage, as manifested by legislation processes. The LTS incorporates a civic expression of democracy via the tri-partite structure that engages lay members (albeit labor relations experts) on an equal footing with the professional judge. The unique resolution system, in which mediation and adjudication closely interact, reflects Japan’s traditional culture of dispute resolution, challenging Western concepts of democratic ideas such as “due process.” Thus, these aspects of the LTS, namely, the enactment process, civic participation structure, and consensus-based adjudication method, provide a litmus test of Japan’s ongoing democratization process. Moreover, the eight years that have passed since the LTA’s implementation in 2006 enable us now an initial assessment of the role the LTS plays in setting democratic norms and in encouraging democratic practices.

This chapter examines the assorted intersections between the LTS and the process of democratization, as part of our book’s discussion of Japanese democracy. Part 1 describes the LTA legislation process, which dispells any possible doubt whether Japan is a mere “theater state.” Part 2 explains how the LTA bypasses the constitutional restriction on extraordinary tribunals and in doing so ends up strengthening democracy. Parts 3 and 4 introduce the Labor Tribunal members (experts in labor relations) and their contribution to grassroots democracy and to democratic socialization of labor norms. Part 5 defines the role of the LTS in enhancing access to justice. How the LTS presents a “suitable justice” model is explained in Part 6. Viewing the larger picture, part 7 reviews the LTS role as an inspiring model for spreading democracy to other Japanese dispute resolution systems. Concluding remarks are given in part 8.