Law school reforms cause glut in lawyers, may lead to more lawsuits against foreign firms in Japan

The Japan Times reports. 

Attorney glut may hit foreign firms

excerpt

----Japan has a multiplicity of legal professions. These include administrative and judicial scriveners (some of whom have quietly taken to calling themselves "lawyers" in English), maritime law specialists, social insurance and labor consultants, patent agents, registered foreign attorneys and tax consultants. All provide a form of legal service in their own area of specialty.

Thus, while in the U.S. licensed attorneys have an almost complete monopoly over the provision of all legal services, the monopoly of Japanese attorneys is essentially limited to representing people in connection with litigation, and being able to call themselves "attorneys" (bengoshi).----