The College of Law as the Training Ground to Realize the “Rule of Law” in the Real World - When in Doubt about Your Career Path, Choose the College of Law."
Prime Minister Kishida loves the phrase "rule of law."
Indeed, as this phrase suggests, all the mechanisms, systems, and rules in society are expressed and controlled by law.
So, studying law is essentially studying the world itself.
Nevertheless, it seems that the popularity of law schools and colleges of law has been waning recently, which is disheartening for alumni like me.
Even in the Showa era, when terms like "governance" and "compliance" were unheard of, it was said that college of law could make a difference.
Now, when terms like "governance" and "compliance" are prevalent, it's the perfect time for law students, who govern the real world through the power of law, to shine.
Not only for the bar exam or civil service exams but also in private companies, legal knowledge is immensely advantageous.
It's puzzling why colleges of law have become unpopular.
The "rule of law," the fundamental principle of English and American Common Law that restrains state power with law, also carries a more worldly connotation: "Those who control the law, control the world."
I had aimed for a scientific career since childhood but unexpectedly found myself in the famous College of Law at Chuo University.
I had no interest in law, or even a conscious awareness of its existence.
It wasn't until I started studying law and read the entire corpus of legal texts that I realized the world is entirely expressed through law, which was truly astonishing.
The complex and elusive real world, shaped daily by the thoughts and actions of countless individuals, is abstracted and reconstructed as a virtual reality world by law.
The culmination of this process, the codification and normatization of the real world, is found in legal texts.
Legal texts are a virtual reality projection of the real world, essentially a guidebook for the real world.
Studying this is what a college of law offers.
It's an incredible field of study.
The empire of this world, where law rules over everything, is nothing less than the study of law.
Once I entered the corporate world, I became convinced of this.
All economic activities in the real world are conducted in accordance with the law.
Contract Law governs contracts, the ultimate goal of sales activities.
Company Law regulates companies, the main actors in business activities.
There's Financial Instruments & Exchange Law, Antitrust Law, Labor Law and so much more.
In any case, everything in this world, from start to finish, is expressed through laws.
And laws governs this world.
Therefore, those who study law and wield it are invincible when dealing with those who don't know it.
In the United States, a country with a legal system far beyond Japan's, you can hardly do anything without a lawyer.
As an extreme example, in Japan, judges can sentence criminals to death because they follow the law.
Looking back, society was simpler in the Showa era, and you didn't need to be aware of laws, just common sense.
Back then, colleges of law were popular even though it wasn't the era for specialized legal professions because they provided a broad range of employment opportunities and were advantageous as generalists.
Over time, society has become more complex, resembling a legal society like that of the United States.
Law students, equipped with the power to understand and manipulate the law, can now succeed not only as generalists but also as specialists, not only in Japan but also globally.
So, let me say this: "When in doubt about your career path, just choose the college of law."
Even as the age of AI advances, as long as human beings exist, legal professionals could survive as AI representatives.
Perhaps the top AI representative could be called the Prime Minister.
