THE EVOLUTION OF JAPANESE JURISPRUDENCE HAS BEEN AFFECTED BY SEVERAL INFLUENCES. THESE INCLUDE A CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY; CIVIL LAW TRADITION; INDIGENOUS NON-WESTERN SOCIOLOGICAL TRADITIONS STILL FULL OF VITALITY; SUBSTANTIAL MODERN LEGAL HISTORY AS AN INDEPENDENT STATE; A WEALTH OF INDIGENOUS SCHOLARSHIP; AND A LARGE, EDUCATED, URBANIZED, INDUSTRIALIZED, INTERNATIONALLY INVOLVED NON-WESTERN SOCIETY. THE LAST CENTURY HAS BEEN NOTABLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUNDAMENTAL INDIVIDUAL LIBERTIES IN JAPAN. THERE HAS BEEN A STEADY PROGRESSION IN FREEDOMS, CULMINATING IN THE ADOPTION OF A CONSTITUTION RICH IN ITS PROVISIONS OF INDIVIDUAL LIBERTIES (FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY, HABEAS CORPUS, FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, RIGHT TO PRIVACY, ETC.). AT ITS INCEPTION, AND FOR YEARS THEREAFTER, THE APPARENT GAP BETWEEN THE CONSTITUTION AS FORMULATED AND JAPANESE SOCIETY AS IN REALITY INFLUENCED MANY OBSERVERS TO PREDICT EITHER REPLACEMENT OR HEAVY REVISION OF THE CONSTITUTION. INSTEAD, THERE HAS BEEN A COMPREHENSIVE RESHAPING OF THE WHOLE OF JAPANESE SOCIETY, WITH THE CONSTITUTION BEING NOT THE LEAST OF THE REASONS FOR IT. THE APPENDIXES CONTAIN A COPY OF THE TEXT OF JAPAN'S CONSTITUTION IN 17 ARTICLES ENACTED IN 604 A.D. AND THE CONSTITUTION ADOPTED IN NOVEMBER OF 1946. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--RCB)