“CALL4”—Japan’s Public Interest Lawyers Enter the 21st Century

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December 2, 2025

“CALL4”—Japan’s Public Interest Lawyers Enter the 21st Century
“CALL4”—Japan’s Public Interest Lawyers Enter the 21st Century

Volume 23

Abstract: This article introduces “CALL4,” a bilingual (Japanese and English) website created in 2019 to bring attention to public interest cases litigated in Japan’s courts. The open-access CALL4 website (https://www.call4.jp/) is designed to both stimulate public interest and raise money for litigation costs through crowdfunding. It presently covers more than 80 cases. CALL4 has become a standard reference for news reporters, lawyers, and others concerned with public interest cases. The site has also raised significant funding. This article profiles the founders and their strategies for reaching a broad audience to support public interest cases, including a significant reliance on student volunteers.

Keywords: Public Interest Litigation, Crowdfunding, Volunteerism, Individual Rights, Social Change

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Volume 23

About the author:

Lawrence Repetahas served as a lawyer, business executive, and law professor in Japan and the United States. He retired from the Meiji University law faculty in 2017. He has written widely on Japan law issues, especially related to constitutional rights and transparency in government. He is best known in Japan as the plaintiff in a suit that led to a 1989 Supreme Court judgment that opened Japan’s courts to public reporting. He has served as a director of the Japan Civil Liberties Union and Information Clearinghouse Japan, nonprofit organizations devoted to protecting individual rights and access to information in government files.

The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus is a peer-reviewed publication, providing critical analysis of the forces shaping the Asia-Pacific and the world.

    About the author:

    Lawrence Repetahas served as a lawyer, business executive, and law professor in Japan and the United States. He retired from the Meiji University law faculty in 2017. He has written widely on Japan law issues, especially related to constitutional rights and transparency in government. He is best known in Japan as the plaintiff in a suit that led to a 1989 Supreme Court judgment that opened Japan’s courts to public reporting. He has served as a director of the Japan Civil Liberties Union and Information Clearinghouse Japan, nonprofit organizations devoted to protecting individual rights and access to information in government files.

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