Specialist Library for East Asian Law

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Specialised Library East Asian Law Photo: FernUniversität Hagen

With its special collections on Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese law, the specialist library for East Asian Law looks back on over 35 years of teaching and research at the FernUniversität in Hagen. In terms of its scope and public accessibility, the collection is unique within Europe.

  • The systematic development of the collection began with a specialist library for Japanese law, which gathered standard works in Japanese, literature in Western languages, and digital publications. Thanks to third-party funding and donations in kind secured by Prof Hans-Peter Marutschke since the 1990s, as well as the work of librarian Tomoko Sekioka, an extraordinary collection on Japanese law was assembled and catalogued across five rooms in the Villa Bechem in Hagen. This was made possible through:

    Villa_BelemFoto: FernUniversität Hagen

    Villa Bechem, former location of the Japanese Law Library (2024)

    In-Ho_Kim_BibliothekFoto: FernUniversität Hagen

    Library of the Institute for Japanese Law in the Villa Bechem, on the right In-Ho Kim (2015)

    • various foundations, including the Japan Foundation’s Library Support Program (国際交流基金) and a donation campaign led by Professors Mikazuki, Kawamoto, and Nakano among Japanese corporations.
    • numerous book donations, notably from former DAAD and Humboldt scholars, as well as the former “Modern Japan” foundation library from the Chair of Civil Law, Commercial and Corporate Law at the University of Hanover.
    • journal volumes, including contributions from the Chair of German and International Civil Procedure and Civil Law at the University of Cologne, and a complete set of Hanrei Times since 1950 on DVD, donated by the publisher of the same name (判例タイムズ社).
    • the comprehensive jurisprudence collection from Dai’ichi Hōki (第一法規), valued at the time at DM 20,000.
    • a selection of 64 books on Japanese politics, economy, and society acquired through the 2025 Read Japan Project.

    Combined with the preliminary work on Korean law conducted under Johann In-Ho Kim, the foundations were laid for the further expansion of the specialist library to cover the entirety of East Asian law.

    Regrettably, following a prolonged vacancy of the Professorship, the holdings were moved from the Villa Bechem and placed into the library’s basement stacks. Consequently, no significant new acquisitions were made between 2004 and 2020.

  • Since Prof Weitzdörfer was appointed in 2020 and Prof Steinhauer took over the Hagen library management in 2021, the library has undergone extensive rework, and strategic new acquisitions have been made. Since then, the East Asian Law department team and the University Library have been working closely together to achieve three goals: 1) guaranteeing that physical material can be easily found through inventory and orderly listing, 2) ensuring academic utility through the filling of collection gaps and new acquisitions, and 3) providing digital searchability and the option of internal direct loan and external interlibrary loan through proper cataloguing.

    Sichtung_BeständeFoto: FernUniversität Hagen

    The team of the department assorting the library stocks (2021)

    Based on an already implemented acquisition strategy – thanks to a six-figure special library acquisition budget and the reinvestment of income from the continuing education programme as well as a book subscription concluded with the renowned publisher Yūhikaku (有斐閣) with the help of Prof Yasuhiro Okuda – all relevant gaps have been closed in a remarkably short time and new acquisitions have been secured for the future. By mid-2026, more than 1,100 new volumes had been acquired and around 6,100 had been re-catalogued. The library again secured the expertise of Natsuko Yamagishi for this task, assisted by team members Wataru Ono and Tracey Kimmeskamp.

    The result is the most extensive freely available collection of Japanese law literature in Europe, with almost 8,000 volumes on approximately 153 metres of shelving (+ about 25 metres of basement stacks). (Similar collections at the Max Planck Institute and Goethe University Frankfurt (in Japanese and Western languages) are fragmented and not openly accessible, cannot be borrowed directly or via interlibrary loan, or are less extensive.) On-site access and loans are already possible without restriction at the FernUniversität in Hagen; interlibrary loans through 1,700 German libraries and all libraries participating in interlibrary loan worldwide are made possible by successive additions to the HBZ union catalogue.

    In addition to Japanese law, strategic acquisitions on ​​​​​​Korean law and Taiwanese law have been made successively since 2023, accompanying the establishment of continuing education programmes on Korean law and Taiwanese law. The acquisition of book donations – e.g., all issues of the Academia Sinica Law Journal by the Institutum Iurisprudenciae (中央研究院法律學研究所) – will contribute to further expansion of the stocks on Korea and Taiwan.

    The collection thus makes an outstanding contribution, unique in Europe, to the promotion of legal relations between Germany and East Asia in both practice and academia, also serving as an intersection between law and regional studies.

  • Neuerwerbungen_1Photo: FernUniversität Hagen

    Newly acquired Japanese-language books (2021)

    Akquise_JapanPhoto: Julius Weitzdörfer
    Jun-Prof Dr Weitzdörfer acquiring books in a law bookstore in Tōkyō (2024)

    The specialised library on East Asian law, which primarily consists of original literature, includes standard legal works and textbooks, collections of legislation and commentaries and of law reports, alongside a significant number of commemorative publications, conference proceedings and monographs. These are supplemented by selected regional works on politics, economics and society as well as (technical) dictionaries.

    The book collection comprises:

    • 4,479 books (approximately 52 shelf-metres) on Japanese law in the Alma library catalogue, of which about 20% are in Western languages and about 80% in Japanese;
    • 2,721 books (approximately 90 shelf-metres) on Japanese law in the Japanese union catalogue CiNii, of which about 2% are in Western languages and about 98% in Japanese;
    • 192 books (approximately 5 shelf-metres) on ​​​​​Korean law in the Alma library catalogue, about 97% of which are in Western languages and about 3% in Korean;
    • 47 books (approximately 2 meters) on Taiwanese law in the Alma library catalogue, about 81% of which are in Western languages and about 17% in Chinese; and
    • approx. 200 books on Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese law (not yet catalogued).

    By the end of 2026, all 2,721 works and journals previously only catalogued in the general catalogue CiNii will also be catalogued in Alma.

    The special collections on Japan, Korea and Taiwan are located at shelfmarks 203, 205 and 206, respectively; these shelfmarks are currently in the lower ground floor of Building B of the FernUniversität in Hagen’s ​​​​​​University Library. Shelfmarks 166 and 204 also contain:

  • Between 2022 and 2026, all journals and law reports were reviewed, organised and provisionally inventoried; duplicates were removed, missing copies were purchased via antiquarian booksellers to fill gaps, and work began on binding and shelving the already complete volumes.

    Bücherspenden aus KoreaPhoto: Fernuniversität
    Donated books and journals from Korea (2023)
    Katalogisierung der ZeitschriftenbeständePhoto: FernUniversität
    Department team members cataloging the journal collection (2023)

    The journal collections on Japan include:

    With active subscriptions (starting from at least January 2022):

    • Hanrei jihō (判例時報), Japanese: physical
    • Hanrei taimuzu (判例タイムズ, Hanrei Times), Japanese: physical
    • Hikaku-hō zasshi (比較法雑誌), Japanese: physical
    • Hōrin – Vergleichende Studien zur japanischen Kultur (法輪), Japanese: physical and online
    • Hōritsu jihō (法律時報), Japanese: physical
    • Hōritsu ronsō (法律論叢), Japanese: physical
    • Japanese Yearbook of International Law (JYIL), Western languages: physical
    • Junkan shōji hōmu (旬刊商事法務), Japanese: physical
    • Jurisuto (ジュリスト, Jurist), Japanese: physical
    • Jurisuto bessatsu (ジュリスト別冊), Japanese: physical
    • Kokusai shihō nenpō (国際私法年報, Japanese Yearbook of Private International Law, JYPIL), Japanese: physical
    • Minshō-hō zasshi (民商法雑誌), Japanese: physical
    • Shōji hōmu bessatsu NBL (商事法務別冊NBL), Japanese: physical
    • Zeitschrift für Japanisches Recht / Journal of Japanese Law (ZJapanR/JJapanL), Western languages: physical and online

    The Alma library catalogue lists the following older library stocks (other works are currently being added):

    • Bibliography of Standard Reference Books for Japanese Studies with Descriptive Notes, 9. B, Law, Western languages, physical
    • Himeji International Forum of Law and Politics, Western languages, physical
    • Hōrei zensho (法令全書, Gesetzesblatt), Western languages, physical
    • Mita hyōron (三田評論), Western languages, physical
    • Securities Market in Japan, Western languages physical and online

    Older library stocks – which are currently being supplemented – in the Japanese general catalogue CiNii include:

    • Aoyama daigaku sōgō kenkyū-jo hōgaku kenkyū sentā kenkyū sōsho (青山学院大学総合研究所法学研究センター研究叢書), Japanese: physical
    • Bessatsu hanrei taimuzu (別冊判例タイムズ), Japanese: physical
    • Bessatsu hōgaku seminā, shihō shiken shirīzu (別冊法学セミナー. 司法試験シリーズ, The Hōgaku Seminar Bessatsu), Japanese: physical
    • Dōshisha daigaku wārudo waido bijinesu rebyū (同志社大学ワールドワイドビジネスレビュー, Dōshisha University World Wide Business Review), Japanese: physical
    • Gaikō fōramu (外交フォーラム, Gaikō Forum), Japanese: physical
    • Gekkan hōgaku kyōshitsu (月刊法学教室), Japanese: physical
    • Global Asia: A Journal of the East Asia Foundation, Western languages: physical
    • Hitotsubashi hōgaku (一橋法学, The Hitotsubashi Journal of Law and International Studies), Japanese: physical
    • Hō-semi: Hōgaku seminā (法セミ: 法学セミナー, The Hōgaku Seminar), Japanese: physical
    • Hōgaku kyōshitsu (法学教室), Japanese: physical
    • Hōgaku seijigaku ronkyū: Hōritsu, seiji, shakai (法學政治學論究: 法律・政治・社会, Journal of Law and Political Studies), Japanese: physical
    • Hōgaku seminā sōkan, jōshiki shirīzu (法学セミナー増刊,常識シリーズ), Japanese: physical
    • Hōgaku seminā sōkan, seminā hōgaku zenshū (法学セミナー増刊,セミナー法学全集), Japanese: physical
    • Hōgaku seminā sōkan, sōgō tokushū shirīzu (法学セミナー増刊,総合特集シリーズ), Japanese: physical
    • ICCLP Annual Report, Western languages: physical
    • ICCLP Publications, Western languages: physical
    • ICCLP Review, Western languages: physical
    • ICD News; Hōmu-shō hōmu sōgō kenkyū-jo kokusai kyōryoku-bu-hō (法務省法務総合研究所国際協力部報, Law for Development), Japanese: physical
    • Japan Review of International Affairs, Western languages: physical
    • JSPS Quarterly, Western languages: physical
    • Jurisuto, sōkan, hōritsu no sōten shirīzu (ジュリスト, 増刊, 法律学の争点シリーズ), Japanese: physical
    • Jurisuto, sōkan, sōgō tokushū (ジュリスト, 増刊, 総合特集), Japanese: physical
    • Keizai hōgakkai nenpō (経済法学会年報, The Annual of Economic Jurisprudence), Japanese: physical
    • Kōbe hōgaku nenpō (神戸法学年報, Kōbe Annals of Law and Politics), Japanese: physical
    • Nihon University Comparative Law, Western languages: physical
    • Nomos (ノモス), Japanese: physical
    • Progress in Informatics (PI), Western languages: physical
    • Ritsumeikan Law Review, Western languages: physical
    • Shakai hoshō-hō: Nihon shakai hoshō hōgaku kaishi (社会保障法:日本社会保障法学会誌, Journal of Social Security Law), Japanese: physical
    • University of Tōkyō Journal of Law and Politics, Western languages: physical
    • Waseda Bulletin of Comparative Law, Western languages: physical
    • Waseda Proceedings of Comparative Law, Western languages: physical

    The journal collection on Korea includes:

    - Two periodicals on Korean law in the Alma library catalogue, ongoing subscription (from 2001 and from 2022)

    Additional periodical:

    • Constitutional Court of Korea Annual Report, English: physical

    The journal collection on Taiwan includes:

    - Two printed periodicals on Taiwanese law in the Alma library catalogue, ongoing subscription (from 2007 and from 2025):

    • Zhōngyányuàn fǎxué qíkān (中研院法學期刊, Academia Sinica Law Journal), English: physical and online
    • Guólì táiwān dàxué lùncóng (國立臺灣大學法學論叢, NTU Law Journal), Chinese: physical

    • Asia Pacific Law Review, online external
    • Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, online external, open access
    • Asian Journal of Comparative Law, online external, open access
    • Asian Journal of Criminology, online external
    • Asian Journal of Law and Economics, online external
    • Asian Journal of Law and Society, online external, open access
    • Asian Law Review, online external, open access
    • Asian Politics & Policy Journal, online external
    • Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal, online external, open access
    • Australian Journal of Asian Law, online external
    • Columbia Journal of Asian Law, online external, open access
    • Comparative Law Review (比較法学, Hikaku hōgaku), online external, open access
    • Contemporary Japan, online external
    • European-Asian Journal of Law & Governance, online external, open access
    • Hitotsubashi Journal of Law and Politics, online external, open access
    • Japan Analysis, online external, open access
    • Japan Forum, online external
    • Japan Labor Issues (new name of the journal Japan Labor Review), online external, open access
    • Japan Labor Review (2004-2017), online external, open access
    • Japanese Journal of Sociological Criminology, online external, open access
    • Japanese Studies, online external
    • Jōhō hōsei kenkyū (情報法制研究, Journal of Law and Information System), online external, Japanese
    • Keiō Law Review, online external
    • Law and Economics Review (法と経済学研究, Hō to keizai-gaku kenkyū), online external, open access, Japanese
    • Law in Japan : an annual, online external
    • Nihon rōdō kenkyū zasshi (日本労働研究雑誌, The Japanese Journal of Labour Studies), online external, open access, Japanese
    • Ōsaka University Law Review, online external, open access
    • Pacific Basin Law Journal, online external, open access
    • The Journal of Asian Studies, online external
    • The Journal of Japanese Studies, online external
    • Washington International Law Journal (new name of the Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal), online external, open access

  • In addition to the books in the specialist library, the following selected series on Japanese and East Asian law are available as e-books (some in open-access format). It is possible to loan books that are not part of the FernUniversität's collection from other universities via interlibrary loans (https://www.fernuni-hagen.de/bibliothek/service/fernleihe.shtml).

  • The law-related online catalogues and databases (primarily on German law) of the FernUniversität can be found on the university library's webpage. The following list is a collection of selected online resources on Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese law.

    Publications that are available in the library and union library catalogues of universities can be loaned via the FernUniversität's interlibrary loan service (https://www.fernuni-hagen.de/bibliothek/service/fernleihe.shtml) (if the respective universities participate in the interlibrary loan).

    We would also like to point that not all databases offer free access to their contents. Immatriculated students of the FernUniversität are granted a free-of-charge access to many databases (including CrossAsia, JSTOR and the Japanese TKC Law Library). The service of the TKC Law Library is especially recommended to students of Japanese law (with Japanese language skills). Access to the TKC Law Library is provided via CrossAsia and can be requested via the FernUniversität.

    Library catalogues:

    • East Asia Department at Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, online external
    • Harvard Law School Library, search set to Japanese language, online external
    • Library of the German Institute for Japanese Studies (DIJ), online external
    • Library of the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Comparative and International Private Law, online external
    • National Diet Library (NDL), online external; Photoduplication Service of the NDL, online external
    • OPAC of the German National Library, online external
    • Peace Palace Library, search set to Japan as keyword and law as subject, online external
    • Waseda University Library (WINE), search set to law as topic and Japan in title (in Japanese), online external

    Union catalogues:

    • OPAC catalogue of Frankfurt University with HEBIS (Hessische Kataloge), search set to jurisprudence as subject area and Japanese language, online external
    • Südwestverbund-Online-Katalog (SWB) including MPI, online external

    Databases:

    • Bibliography of Asian Studies (bibliographical database for sources on East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia in Western languages), online external
    • CiNii Research (database for Japan-related articles, journals, books, and dissertations), online external
    • CrossAsia (XAsia) (database for Asia-related research), online external
    • J-STAGE (database for Japan-related journals and other academic publications), online external
    • JSTOR (database for journals, e-books, primary sources and pictures), search set to Japan as keyword and law as subject, online external
    • Social Science Research Network (database for open-access preprints), online external
    • TKC Law Library (TKC ローライブラリー, TKC rō raiburarī) (database on Japanese law with publications of Japanese law publishing houses), online external, access only possible via login, can be requested by students of the FernUniversität via CrossAsia (XAsia), in Japanese

  • Most important legal texts German English Japanese
    Administrative Procedure Act (Gyōtehō)   Englisch Japanisch
    Civil Code (Minpō), Family and Inheritance Law   Englisch Japanisch
    Code of Civil Procedure (Minso)   Englisch Japanisch
    Code of Criminal Procedure (Keiso)   Englisch Japanisch
    Companies Act (Kaishahō)   Englisch Japanisch
    Labor Standards Act (Rōkihō)   Englisch Japanisch
    Penal Code (Keihō)   Englisch Japanisch
    Resource collection on constitutional law (exclusive for students of the continuing education programme „Japanese Law“) Deutsch    
    Resource collection on constitutional law (exclusive for students of the LLM elective module „Introduction to Japanese Law“) Deutsch    
    The Constitution of Japan (Nihon-koku kenpō)   Englisch Japanisch
    Corpora juris German English Japanese
    Asian Legal Information Institute (database)   Englisch  
    e-Gov (database on national legal norms)     Japanisch
    eLen (e-Legislation environment) (database on local ordinances and bylaws)     Japanisch
    Hōko (historical versions of law, archived via Wayback Machine)     Japanisch
    Japanese Law Translation (translation database of the Ministry of Justice)   Englisch Japanisch
    Law database of the National Diet Library     Japanisch
    Ministry of the Environment (Environmental law)   Englisch  
    Westlaw Japan (database on Japanese law)     Japanisch
    World Legal Information Institute (database)   Englisch  
    Collected decisions German English Japanese
    kanz.jp (summary of recent decisions [categorised by court])     Japanisch
    Supreme Court (database on decisions)   Englisch Japanisch
    TKC Law Library (summary of recent decisions [categorized by type of law])     Japanisch
    Zeitschrift für Japanisches Recht (ZJapanR) (regularly publishes the most important decisions of the Supreme Court and the Intellectual Property High Court [can be found via the index of the respective issues]) Deutsch Englisch  

  • Contents will follow shortly.

  • Japanese institutions German English Japanese
    Cabinet Secretariat (内閣官房, Naikaku kanbō)     Japanisch
    Dōshisha Law School (同志社大学法科大学院, Dōshisha daigaku hōka daigaku-in, partnership since June 2024)   Englisch Japanisch
    House of Councillors (参議院, Sangi‘in)   Englisch Japanisch
    House of Representatives (衆議院, Shūgi‘in)   Englisch Japanisch
    Japan Federation of Bar Associations (日本弁護士連合会, Nihon bengo-shi rengō-kai)   Englisch Japanisch
    Japan National Notaries Association (日本公証人連合会, Nihon kōshō-nin rengō-kai)   Englisch Japanisch
    Judicial system in Japan   Englisch Japanisch
    Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI, 経済産業省, Keizai sangyō-shō)   Englisch Japanisch
    Ministry of Justice (法務省, Hōmu-shō)   Englisch Japanisch
    Prime Minister’s Office of Japan (首相官邸, Shushō kantei)   Englisch Japanisch
    Supreme Court of Japan (OGH, 最高裁判所, Saikō saiban-sho)   Englisch Japanisch
    State organisation chart   Englisch  
    The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training (JILPT, 人労働政策研究・研修機構, Rōdō seisaku kenkyū kenshū kikō)   Englisch Japanisch
    The Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA, 日本国際問題研究所, Nihon kokusai mondai kenkyū-jo)   Englisch Japanisch
    The Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI, 経済産業研究所, Keizai sangyō kenkyū-jo)   Englisch Japanisch
    Bilateral institutions German English Japanese
    Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Japan Deutsch    
    Association of German-Japanese Societies (VDJG) Deutsch    
    Consulate General of Japan in Düsseldorf Deutsch   Japanisch
    Embassy of Germany in Japan Deutsch   Japanisch
    Embassy of Japan in Germany Deutsch   Japanisch
    European Business Council (EBS) in Japan   e-fa j-fa
    Foundation for the Promotion of Japanese-German Scientific and Cultural Relations (JaDe-Stiftung) Deutsch    
    German-Japanese Lawyers' Association (DJJV) Deutsch Englisch  
    German-Japanese Society for Labour Law (DJGA) Deutsch    
    German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan (DIHKJ) d-fa e-fa j-fa
    German Institute for Japanese Studies (DIJ) d-fa e-fa j-fa
    Japan Audit & Supervisory Board Members Association (JASBA)   e-fa j-fa
    Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) e-fa    
    Japanese-German Center Berlin (jdzb) Deutsch Englisch Japanisch
    Japanese-German Society, Tōkyō (JDG) Deutsch   Japanisch
    Japanese-German Society for Labour Law (JDGA)     Japanisch
    Japanese Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Düsseldorf Deutsch   Japanisch
    Kopra (Internship board) Deutsch Englisch Japanisch
    Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law Deutsch Englisch  
    The Australian Network for Japanese Law (ANJeL)   Englisch  
02.06.2026