Introduction / Patricia G. Steinhoff -- No helmets in court, no t-shirts on death row : new left trial support groups / Patricia G. Steinhoff -- Karshi activism and recent trends in Japanese civil society : creating credible knowledge and culture / Scott North -- Courting justice, contesting "bureaucratic informality" : the Sayama case and the evolution of Buraku liberation politics / John H. Davis, Jr. -- Becoming unforgettable : leveraging law for labor in struggles for employment security / Christena Turner -- Suing for redress : Japanese consumer organizations and the courts / Patricia L. Maclachlan -- No voice in the courtroom : deaf legal cases in the 1960s / Karen Nakamura -- Cause lawyering in Japan : reflections on the case studies and justice reform / Daniel H. Foote.