Longing To Litigate

How many lawyers does it take to screw in a light bulb? In Japan, it doesn't matter: there aren't enough of them around to do it. The nation of 127 million has just 20,000 licensed lawyers; on a per-capita basis, the U.S. has 25 times more. This week, however, 68 graduate-level law schools around Japan will open their doors to more than 5,000 would-be attorneys. "I don't want to be a salaryman," says Yuki Imai, 22, a freshman at the University of Tokyo's new law school. "A law degree will give me more freedom."

For decades, the...

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