Implementation of Universal Human Rights Standards in Japan: An Interface of National and International Law

Abstract

Since the enactment of the Constitution of Japan in 1946, the universal nature of human rights has been repeatedly approved by the legal academy, profession and the government authorities. Binding international human rights law is part of the domestic legal order and enjoys a higher status inferior only to the Constitution. Nevertheless, the promise of universal human rights is yet to be fulfilled officially and among ordinary citizens. Like many other countries in the world, there still appears a long way to go in making the faithful application of human rights obligations a reality. Notably, the judicial elite show indifference if not antagonism to interpretation of human rights effectuated at the universal level, thus inducing a number of recommendations from treaty bodies to the effect that international human rights law should be part of professional training. It is critically important that the local populace feel a sense of ownership of human rights law, a condition that might paradoxically come into being through a diametric way of thinking that challenges the very validity of human rights.