Happy to announce the publication of my co-authored article with Dr. Tomonori Teraoka – “The Legitimation Crisis of the Japanese Constitution: Reflections on Japan’s Judicial Rhetoric and Its Post-WWII Constitutionalization Process (link to download the full article)” – on the latest issue of Communication Law Review. Our article presents an interdisciplinary, multilingual collaborative effort to critically examine Japanese constitutional discourse at both domestic and transnational levels.

Abstract: Our article examines the issue of constitutional legitimacy in the post-WWII Japanese
legal system. Our analysis proceeds from the judicial rhetoric of postwar Japan, focusing
primarily on the state of judicial review and executive legislative practices throughout the
Japanese postwar constitutionalization process. The aim of our rhetorical analysis is to
identify the main points of discursive tensions as manifested in Japanese judiciary and
legislative norms. Although the postwar Japanese constitution provides a judicial review
process and separation of powers like its American counterpart, their implementation is
constrained by the legislative usurpation of the executive branch and judicial passivity of
the Japanese Supreme Court. Whereas the written language in the postwar Japanese
constitution adheres to the prevailing transnational dóxa for a democratic rule-of-law
society, we find many key constitutional elements are not internationalized within the
operational modality of Japanese judicial rhetoric.