Reformist new head of bar federation

Veteran lawyer and champion of judicial reform Makoto Miyazaki has been elected as the new chairman of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, the nation's largest bar organization.

Miyazaki

Miyazaki, 63, who belongs to the Osaka Bar Association, on Friday defeated Shunkichi Takayama, 67, from the Tokyo Bar Association, a known opponent of reform.

Miyazaki garnered 9,402 votes, or 56 percent, while Takayama won 7,043 votes, or 42 percent, according to preliminary vote-counting.

During the campaign that began Jan. 9, Miyazaki pledged to maintain the current federation leadership's stance of promoting judicial reform.

But Miyazaki said he will ask the government to reconsider one pillar of the reforms--the plan to raise the number of people who pass annual bar examinations to 3,000 by 2010, an increase from the

700 accepted through the late 1990s.

"I humbly accept (the close election results), which show that many member lawyers are discontented (with reforms) because they believe demand for legal services has not kept pace with the rapid rise in the number of legal experts," he told reporters on Friday.

Miyazaki said he will set up a team to study the issue after he takes office in April.

He has proposed a slower pace of increase be introduced by September. He also has pledged to, during his two-year term, set appropriate levels for the number of people passing bar exams.

Takayama, who opposed the idea, said the reform would not only make it difficult for new lawyers to land jobs but also reduce earnings among all lawyers.(IHT/Asahi: February 11,2008)