Law

Graduate School of Law

In April 2004, the Tohoku University School of Law, at the graduate level, was reorganized into a tripartite organization comprising the Law School (a professional graduate school), the School of Public Policy (a professional graduate school), and the Graduate School of Law.
As an educational institute, the Graduate School of Law provides a Master’s Course and a Doctoral Course, where academic research on a wide range of fields in law and politics is carried out. Among the three graduate schools of the School of Law, the Graduate School of Law is the most important center of advanced research activity.

The Graduate School of Law aims to accurately grasp and understand the numerous social and other issues present in the ever-changing society of the modern day, and to conduct research on these issues from a theoretical perspective. In addition, through these research activities, the Graduate school of Law aims to provide illuminating insights into the “practical” aspects of such issues, contributing to education in the Law School and School of Public Policy, which are situated at the crossroads of theory and practice.To contribute to these aims, the Graduate School of Law strives to cultivate researchers and professionals who have knowledge of the fundamentals of legal and political science, and who are able to astutely detect societal needs, identify issues on their own accord, and come up with specific solutions to various problems related to law and politics. More particularly, the School of Law seeks to enroll persons who possess a combination of logical reasoning and basic knowledge in legal and political science, and who fall in one of the following categories:

• those who have basic knowledge of legal and political science, and a strong specialized interest in these fields, and wish to engage in even more advanced research in the future as scholars actively involved in the front line in their fields of study;
• those who will build on their extensive knowledge of and insights into law and politics while aiming to build academic careers in universities and other research institutes as internationally distinguished scholars in their various fields;
• those who wish to build their career as professionals outside academia, and who wish to contribute to the building of a better society by making full use of academic insights and methodologies obtained through their research activities;
• those who have work experience outside of the university and wish to pursue desirable solutions to various practical problems, especially those which they encountered in their careers, while feeding their experience back into academic research;
• those who have graduated from professional graduate schools and wish to engage themselves in advanced academic research, aiming to create a bridge between theory and
  practice.

The Graduate School of Law has set up a diverse framework of entrance examinations that reflect the above educational aims in order to determine whether applicants possess the high level of aptitude required to achieve them. More specifically, the Graduate School of Law has set up the following types of entrance examinations: the regular entrance examination, special entrance examination, entrance examination for the Cross-National Master’s Course, entrance examination for the Legal and Political Science Course, entrance examination for the Academic Career Development Course (academic researcher and practical professional tracks), Cross-National Doctoral Course.

(Master Course)

Regular entrance examination: 1st screening – written examination to ascertain the applicants’ level of basic knowledge in the fields of legal and political science. 2nd screening – oral examination to evaluate the applicants’ language skills and ability to reason logically (the oral examination will be based on the application documents).
Special entrance examination: 1st screening – evaluation of application documents to ascertain the applicants’ level of basic knowledge in the fields of legal and political science, and language skills. 2nd screening – oral examination to ascertain the applicants’ ability to reason logically and to conduct academic research.
For the Cross-National Master’s Course, applications are accepted from graduate students enrolled in a master’s program at an overseas partner institution of the Graduate School of Law. 1st screening – evaluation of application documents to ascertain the applicants’ level of basic knowledge in the fields of legal and political science, and language skills. 2nd screening – oral examination to ascertain the applicants’ ability to reason logically and to conduct academic research.
It should be noted that by the time of enrollment in the Graduate School of Law, all accepted applicants should acquire a level of knowledge in the field in which they wish to major, as well as in adjacent fields, that is equivalent to that usually acquired at the time of completion of a bachelor degree in that field. Furthermore, all accepted applicants should acquire skills necessary to carry out their research in a systematic manner.

(Doctoral Course)

In the case of the Legal and Political Science Course, in addition to evaluating the documents submitted by the applicant, such as their master’s thesis and research plan, the following are also evaluated via an oral examination: wide and accurate knowledge of the specific area of legal or political science that the applicant wishes to major in, research ability, motivation, and imagination necessary for problem-solving based on advanced specialized practical experience.
For the Academic Career Development Course (academic researcher or practical professional track), applications are accepted from persons who have passed the bar examination. The following abilities and skills are evaluated via screening of documents submitted by the applicant, such as a research paper (or personal statement) and research plan, and an oral examination: ability to conduct practical front-line legal research spanning various areas of law, ability to deepen theoretical understanding of legal issues that the applicant has so far acquired from a professional view-point, and the ability to further explore these issues.

For the Cross-National Doctoral Course, applications are accepted from graduate students enrolled in a PhD program of an overseas partner institution of the Graduate School of Law. After an initial screening of documents submitted by the applicant in order to determine the appropriateness of their research plan, an oral examination is held in order to carefully examine whether the applicant possesses comprehensive specialized knowledge in the field in which they plan to conduct research, as well as to further examine the appropriateness of their research plan.
It should be noted that by the time of enrollment in the Graduate School of Law, all accepted applicants should acquire the following abilities and skills: (1) comprehensive knowledge of the field in which they wish to conduct research, including an understanding of current leading trends in that field, (2) skills necessary to conduct research, such as searching for, collecting and organizing written sources and other materials, and (3) the ability to develop original academic arguments based on the above knowledge and information they have gathered.

The Law and Society Major of the Professional Degree Program of Tohoku University’s Graduate School of Law (the “Law School”)

The Law and Society Major of the Professional Degree Program of Tohoku University’s Graduate School of Law (the “Law School”) aims to cultivate highly qualified legal professionals (judges, public prosecutors, attorneys) who possess advanced specialist knowledge of legal theory and high professional ethics, as well as a broad range of general knowledge, and a rich and cooperative spirit, and who are, furthermore, capable of actively solving the various legal problems that arise daily in an increasingly diverse and complex society.
The Law School aims to enroll persons who have a sense of justice and fairness, an ability to think logically and flexibly, to understand society and human relationships from a multitude of view-points, and who have a strong motivation to actively engage in problem-solving, exhibit learning in legal science or in another academic field, and are deemed to have an aptitude for legal thinking.
The Law School has established the following selection categories and exams in order to choose students who possess the high level of aptitude required to reach the educational aims listed above: General Selection for Students with Some Legal Knowledge, Special Selection for Students of the Basic Law Course, Selection for Students with No Legal Knowledge.
General Selection for Students with Some Legal Knowledge consists of the following two steps (screenings): 1st Screening – screening of documents submitted by the applicant in order to evaluate their basic disposition to become legal practitioners; 2nd Screening – written examination to evaluate knowledge and skills such as basic legal knowledge and practical application skills.
There are two sub-types for the Special Selection for Students of the Basic Law Course: the 5-year integrated course selection and the open-type selection. In the case of the 5 – year integrated course selection, the applicants will undergo a document screening, through which the applicants’ basic ability to become legal practitioners as well as their academic performance during the Basic Law Course in the affiliated basic law curriculum will be evaluated. In the case of open-type selection, the selection process has two steps. The first step, or 1st Screening, is an application document screening identical to that of the 5-year integrated course selection. The 2nd step, or 2nd Screening, is a written exam, which measures the applicants’ basic legal knowledge and practical application skills.
Selection for Students with No Legal Knowledge consists of the following two steps (screenings): 1st Screening – screening of application documents to evaluate the applicants’ basic disposition to become legal practitioners; 2nd Screening – written examination to evaluate the applicants’ aptitude for logical and legal thinking.
All successful applicants are expected to acquire the following skills and knowledge before enrollment at the Law School: (1) students with some legal knowledge are expected to acquire a certain level of knowledge of the core six fields of law and related specialist subjects which are usually taught at the undergraduate level at a faculty of law; (2) students with no legal knowledge are expected to acquire logical thinking skills through, for example, reading academic texts.

Public Law and Policy Major of the Professional Degree Program of Tohoku University’s Graduate School of Law (the “School of Public Policy”)

In April 2004, the Tohoku University graduate-level School of Law was reorganized into a tripartite organization comprising the Law School, the School of Public Policy, and the Graduate School of Law.

The School of Public Policy aims to nurture “policy professionals” with highly specialized knowledge and skills in public policy, supported by a practical and theoretical foundation, who can examine the state of public policy and its practice in the real world, identify specific issues facing policymakers at the front line, and make effective proposals to resolve those issues.

We seek students who aspire to become highly specialized professionals who can contribute to society with specialized knowledge and skills in public policy supported by a practical and theoretical foundation, specifically those who have the following academic skills and abilities:

1. A willingness and basic ability to learn about public policy making and institutional design from multiple perspectives, based on specialized knowledge acquired in the undergraduate program;
2. Ability to contribute to group work with strong communication skills, including discussion, negotiation, writing, and presentation skills; and
3. Possession of a passion for the public good and a dedication to public service.

Entrance examinations are held in three forms: the regular entrance examination, the special entrance examination for undergraduate students from Tohoku University, and the special entrance examination for applicants with work experience. In the entrance examinations, selection is made with emphasis on whether the applicant has the high level of ability and qualifications necessary to conduct research in line with the educational philosophy and goals of the School of Public Policy.

In the regular entrance examination, the written examination asks for solutions to specific policy issues and examines the applicant’s basic understanding of specific administrative issues and ability to analyze them as well as basic knowledge of the policy issues facing modern society; the oral examination comprehensively examines communication and group work skills necessary to actively participate in the “Public Policy Workshop.” The applicants are required to exceed the standards set by the School of Public Policy in both the written and oral examinations.

Under the same policy as the regular entrance examination, the special entrance examination for undergraduate students from Tohoku University is designed to select, through an oral examination, students who have particularly outstanding abilities that will serve as role models for the university and who are interested in pursuing careers in the public policy sector, such as working for the government.

In the special entrance examination for applicants with work experience, which is designed for those who have been involved in public policy work for at least three years, applicants will be selected through an oral examination based on their work experience and study plans, as well as their willingness and ability to improve their policymaking skills while managing their study and work commitments.

Before enrolling in the program, students are expected to have a basic understanding of law and political science as well as a basic knowledge of the policy issues facing modern society.