Research and Teaching Activities

Study Groups: Public Regulation Section
Study Groups: Commercial Transaction Section
Study Groups: Intellectual Property Section
Study Groups: General Section

COE Lectures Series
COE "Soft Law" Seminars Series
COE Symposiums


Publications

Newsletter

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Study Groups by Section

Public Regulation Section

・The Study Group on Competition Law
"The Study Group on Competition Law" conducts multifaceted debates on the relationship between soft law and hard law in the area of economic law, with a special focus on competition law. Coordinated by Professor Tadashi Shiraishi, this Study Group is conducted with the participation of students of the Graduate School and external practitioners.

・Softlaw taxation workshop
Even in tax law where written rules are dominant, soft law plays an important role. Professor Yoshihiro Masui coordinates graduate students to study soft law in the field of taxation.

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Commercial Transaction Section

・The Study Group on Market Transactions and Soft Law
"The Study Group on Market Transactions and Soft Law" researches soft law across a range of market transactions, including capital markets, commodities and international transactions, as well as new forms of commercial transactions such as electronic commerce. Further, when considering commercial transactions in regulated industries, it also becomes necessary to closely analyze the links with the field of public regulation. Centered around Professor Hideki Kanda, the Study Group consists of researchers and practitioners . The Study Group will report periodically on its activities in collecting material for the database on soft law in the area of commercial transactions, and then debate and analyze that material. Coordinated by Professors Hideki Kanda and Tomotaka Fujita this Study Group is conducted with the participation of faculty members and researchers for COE program.

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Intellectual Property Section

・The Study Group on "Rights Businesses"
"The Study Group on Rights Businesses" conducts a probing analysis of both soft and hard law in relation to so-called "rights businesses" which have been rapidly increasing in importance in recent times, utilizing perspectives from intellectual property law, contract law, antimonopoly law, etc. The central figures are Professor Nobuhiro Nakayama and Professor Tetsuya Obuchi. Together with scholars from the University and other institutions, and practitioners with practical experience in "rights businesses", they aim to conduct integrated research on both theory and practice at the highest level in this field in Japan and also direct their efforts to joint international research and international publication of research results. Further, voluntary participation by graduate and undergraduate students of the Faculty of Law as observers means that the Study Group makes a strong contribution to the cultivation of young scholars and practitioners of the future.

・The Study Group on Biotechnology and Legal Policy
"The Study Group on Biotechnology and Legal Policy" is convened jointly with the "Biotechnology, Bioethics and Legal Policy" Project, a Special Grant Program for Creation of New Academic Research Fields within this Graduate School. This Study Group undertakes comprehensive investigation of the state of legal protection for research results in the rapidly changing area of biotechnology, from the perspectives of biotechnology and intellectual property law, while taking full account of soft law norms. The Study Group, led by Professor Nobuhiro Nakayama, Professor Norio Higuchi and Professor Tetsuya Obuchi, aims to bring together the best participants available in Japan in this field by conducting seminars at the highest level, from the perspectives of both theory and practice, with the involvement of researchers and practitioners (judges, attorneys, patent agents, representatives of the Patent Office, etc.). In terms of joint international research, international publication of research results and voluntary participation by students as observers, the same approach is taken as in the Study Group on Rights Businesses.

・The Study Group on Intellectual Property Law
"The Study Group on Intellectual Property Law" aims to conduct integrated research from theoretical and practical perspectives, including consideration of soft law, across the general field of intellectual property law which has taken on an indispensable importance in the current information society. The Study Group is coordinated by Professors Nobuhiro Nakayama and Tetsuya Obuchi with the aim of gaining the participation of exemplary researchers and practitioners in the field of intellectual property law. The purpose is to conduct seminars at the highest level in this field, in the form of joint research of scholars across various disciplines, from this University and beyond, and practitioners (judges, attorneys, patent agents, representatives of government offices, etc.). In terms of joint international research, international publication of research results and voluntary participation by students as observers, the same approach is taken as in the Study Group on Rights Businesses.

General Section

・The Study Group on Theories of Soft Law
"The Study Group on Theories of Soft Law" is a joint study group of jurists, economists and practitioners focusing on methodologies for analyzing and debating soft law.

・Research Project on Art, Science and Entertainment Law (RASEL)
This study group focuses on the legal aspects of art, science and entertainment, especially in the context of soft law. Professor Minoru Nakazato organizes practitioners, graduate students and journalists. During August, 2004 and March, 2005, Professor Hidetaka Aizawa lead this project, when Professor Nakazato continued the project in Boston, Massachusetts where he stayed for his sabbatical.

・Research Project in Boston on Art, Science and Entertainment Law
This study group was organized in Boston, Massachusetts during August, 2004 and March, 2005. Professor Minoru Nakazato organized several graduate students at Harvard Law School.

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COE Public Lectures

The COE Public Lectures are convened in conjunction with the Business Law Center Public Lectures.

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COE "Soft Law" Seminars

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Symposiums

No.	Date	Topic	Speaker
1	March 12, 2004	Ethics, social norms and law in the current age: Perspectives on the future of research on soft law	Hideki Kanda, Professor, University of Tokyo, and others
2	July 17, 2004 July 18, 2004	The Code of Medical Ethics: What it means and how it works Medical Information: Its Uses and Protection	Yasuhiko Morioka, Consultant, Japan Medical Association, and others
3	December 4, 2004	Legal Ethics and Bioethics: A Comparison	Rebecca Dresser, Professor, UW School of Law, and others
4	March 14, 2005	The Move towards Soft Law: Case Studies in Business Law	Yasufumi Shiroyama,University of Tokyo, and others
5	July 1, 2005 July 2, 2005	Soft Law and Social Norms Soft Law and International Community	Eric A. Posner, Professor, University of Chicago, and others
6	February 27, 2006	Soft Law vs. Hard Law: Conflicts, Complementarities, and Convergences	Takashi Araki, University of Tokyo, and others
7	September 30, 2006 October 1, 2006	Authors Workshop A Decade After Crisis: The Transformation of Corporate Governance in East Asia	Curtis Milhaupt, Professor, Columbia Law School, and others
8	March 5, 2007	"De Facto Standard" and Norm Creation	Hiroshi Mitoma, University of Tokyo, and others
9	July 13, 2007	Soft Law in Action: The Role of Private Ordering in Commercial Activities	Clayton P. Gillette, Professor, New York University, and others
10	March 3, 2008	The Mechanism of Creating Private Ordering: Creator, Process and Contents	Masahiko Iwamura, Professor, University of Tokyo, and others