Job Discussion Forums

[Alberta605]

Can't add this to the Nova'Drugs and Justice thread as it's locked due to some spiciness or other.

What surprised me today was the appearance of a 30 year old full judge at law at the center I work at. Hobbies included snow boarding, SCUBA and 5-a-side soccer.
In Japan, after passing the bar exam and a further 18 months of training the lucky near teenager can decide to be either a lawyer or a judge at the ripe old age of 24.

Naturally I was surprised at what is new information for me as most of the judges in my country appear to be near death from old age.

Aside from his age and his youthful predictions, I was a little concerned about his capacity because:

1. He couldn't understand the meaning of a relatively easy graph;
2. He couldn't remember any more than 1 country from a list of 6 (played twice).
3. He couldn't seem to imagine where he'd like to go on vacation if he had more than the 10 days he's currently entitled to.
4. He nearly fell over a chair when leaving the room.

Overworked, maybe...confidence inspiring in the Japanese judical system ohhhh nooo!

Disclaimer: this experience is not meant to express the definitive state or condition of the Japanese juducial system or the judges who work therein. It is an isolated event in experience of the poster and should not be incorrectly generalized.

[Yawarakaijin]

Funny post. I liked your disclaimer. It should become standard on here the way some seem to take offense so easily.

I haven't met or taught many judges but man you are spot on in regard to the vacation thing. My classes usually go something like this.

Scenario A : So Mr.Tanaka where are you going for golden week?
Back to my hometown.

Scenario B So Mr. Tanaka where are you going for golden week?
Okinawa/Hokkaido.

Scenario C So Mr.Tanaka where are you going for golden week?
Nowhere special.

Oh, where would you like to go?
Ehhhhhh? Ahhhhhhhh. Etoooooooneeeee

Is there a country that you are interested in?
Ehhhhhh. Ahhhhhhhh. Etoooooo neeee.

Now obviously this doesn't jive because we all know how easy it is to spot Japanese tourists in our home countries. I tell you though, I have more interesting conversations with little children and 60 year old ladies than I do with the average Japanese male between the ages of 25 and 50.

[Glenski]

Competence or intelligence in one field does not mean anything about the ability to learn a foreign language.

Enjoy the lessons. Sounds like you have a near beginner, and an overworked one at that. One who has led almost all of his life at one task and has had no opportunity to think of his personal life.

[G Cthulhu]

[sethness]

Being a judge in Japan is accomplished by taking a civil service exam which searches out your competencies. After taking the test, you may become a judge, court stenographer, etc.

The problem is, as someone earlier pointed out, that one has little experience at that point-- and worse, may rely on elders for direction.

The judges I've met have relied heavily on the opinions of the prosecutors, putting in little or none of their own input. I've seen more stiffness of spine from seaweed in a strong current.

Imho, a person should be a lawyer for a good, long decade before being able to become a judge-- and then have a very low regard for lawyers, prosecutors, and their opinions.

[JimDunlop2]

I'm assuming that your humorous rant was in the context of an English lesson with said judge... I had to read your post twice to make sure...

You know, it' kinda hard to determine quality standards in other countries and cultures. Two summers ago when my wife and I were in Europe, we shared a train sleeper car with a "medical doctor" from Brazil... He actually looked much more like a 60s hippy, but even more so, looked about as old as Doogie Howser, M.D. He explained to us how all that worked, and again, he chose and started studying for his profession quite early on.

I know that in Canada, ANY judge has to work a certain number of years as a lawyer (specifically, as a public prosecutor) before he's eligible for promotion to judge. But hey, this isn't Canada. Honestly, I think I may feel more at ease with a judge who enjoys boarding and scuba.

Anyhoo, all that aside, I KNOW that many, many highly intelligent people, when confronted by learning another language instantly "go stupid" in an instant -- and can't think OR reason. Sometimes it seems that all logical reasoning and critical thinking skills (that you KNOW must be a part of their everyday jobs) go out the window as soon as they see a sentence in English that they can't decypher.... Their IQ drops from 140 to 70 in about 5 words, if you will. I tutor an AIDS researcher from Tokyo Medical University every weekend, and even though he's a brilliant scientist (I've read some of his internationally published articles) who has helped advance AIDS research incredibly, can't remember (even after the 1000 times I've corrected him) that the past tense of "go" is "went."

I guess the same thing can even be said about more mundane situations. For instance, why is it that a computer-geek programmer who is smart enough to hack a hole into a government supercomputer isn't capable of getting a date on Friday night? I think it's the same sort of parallel.

[shuize]

[seastarr]

I taught a judge at Nova that was probably about 35-40 years old. In the time I taught him, I was lucky enough to have him one on one a few times and I found that he was one of the smartest students that I had, even though he lacked imput in a group class. He was always very interested in learning about the application of the law in my country and he was always willing to discuss and debate the Japanese legal system. I always enjoyed our conversations because he was very open and interested in my opinions and would tell me what he thought of them. This was not the norm with most of my other students who usually thought what ever the teacher said was probably right. Just because someone doesn't fit the western image of an aged judge doesn't mean they are any less fit for the position. My Grandfather was a family court Judge in the days when people were appointed in Canada simply because of their place in the community. Age and wisdom do not always go hand in hand and language skill and knowledge don't always go together either. Society is everchanging and I agree with the poster that said they might prefer to have a scuba diving judge as opposed to one that was extremely set in their ways.

[JimDunlop2]

[furiousmilksheikali]

[earache]

In VERY simple terms...
the legal system in Japan in a civil law system based on codifications rather than the common law system used in the US and Canada. In a civil law system, the judge just has to apply the codes (i.e. laws); in a common law system, the judge makes the law and therefore needs a lot more experience.

Further...
Japan is considering introducing saibanin to the legal system- citizens who will have input in the judge's decision (usually two per trial). This is not a jury system by any means.

[southofreality]

Who says the judicial system here doesn't work?

http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20070312p2a00m0na021000c.html

[seanmcginty]

[Alberta605]

[G Cthulhu]