Japanese law

If the new bicycle helmet rule isn’t mandatory, are there penalties for not following it?

We asked a lawyer to find out!

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Japanese public divided on new law that requires microchipping of pets

The effort is to reduce abandonment and missing pets, but some aren’t on board.

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English teacher arrested in Japan for smuggling cannabis oil inside hair treatment bottles

Two kilograms found hidden in shampoo pump-bottles.

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Japanese government discussing stricter copyright laws on cosplay, top cosplayer Enako chimes in

New rules may regulate social media photos and profit made from cosplay.

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Japanese survey finds only 23 percent of vehicles stop for pedestrians at crosswalks

Look left, right, then left again – and then wait for the cars to go by.

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Big win for tattoo artists: Japan’s Supreme Court rules medical licenses aren’t necessary

After three years of deliberation, the highest court in Japan has decided.

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Amending Japanese crime law: names of 18 and 19-year-old criminals to no longer be concealed

Discussions currently underway within the administration for this special amendment.

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Can a curry shop legally ban you if you don’t finish your rice? A Japanese lawyer chimes in

We find out if being wasteful is grounds for banishment.

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Japanese lawyer comments on legality of tattoo ban at hot springs, netizens share thoughts too

Are tattoo bans at onsen a relic of the past or part of Japanese culture?

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Awareness campaign warns foreigners in Japan of “Divorce without Consent”

In Japan, you can be divorced without your consent, losing your right to reside in the country and access to your children.

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The surprising reasons why some hiragana aren’t allowed to be used on Japanese license plates

You’ll never see these four hiragana on license plates, but maybe not for the reasons you’d expect….

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Japanese government agency steps in to possibly regulate PokéCoin purchases

Japan’s Financial Services Agency opens an investigation into whether or not PokéCoins fall under jurisdiction of the country’s Payment Services Act.
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In recent years, the use of law-evading hallucinogenic herbs has been becoming more popular among young people in Japan. These herbs have properties similar to those of illegal drugs like cannabis, however due to their synthetic nature, many users fail to see the real dangers lurking behind them. As an initiative to prevent widespread misuse, the government produced a comprehensive list of chemicals that are banned in the sale and use of law-evading hallucinogenic herbs on March 22, 2013. The chemical substances on the list recently rose from 92 to 851. However many shops are selling a modified version of the banned herbs in attempt to evade the issues of legalities and keep profits alive. In this way, it is a cat and mouse game where once one chemical has been outlawed, a similar substance carrying slightly altered chemical properties is quick to make its way on to the market. While effects of inhaling these herbs are similar to hallucinogenic drugs, shopkeepers claim that they are solely for aromatic purposes. Of particular concern is that the number of online law-evading herb shops is also increasing.

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