Criminal Law in Taiwan under Japanese Colonial Rule in the Meiji Period(1868-1912)

• In Event: Toward a New Perspective to Understand Japan in Hong Kong

Abstract

Ever since the Meiji Restoration(1868), the Japanese government had expressed a strong desire for their country to become a fully civilized member of a global society composed of European-type modern nations by promoting Westernized political institutions. In this pursuit, the legal system, particularly the constitution stating a country is independent from external interference and superior to domestic affairs had been considered by many Japanese politicians in the Meiji period(1868-1912)as qualifications of a civilized nation having rights equal to the Western powers. In other words, the Meiji Constitution established in 1889 had the obvious motivation of constructing Japan as a modern nation defined by the International Law. However, after the First Sino-Japanese War(1894–1895)and Japan’s acquisition of Taiwan as its colony, the range of the Japanese Empire was enlarged to include not only Japanese isles, but also Taiwan. In this condition, an overarching concern throughout the Meiji period was how to transform the legal system based on the concept of constructing Japan as a modern nation to an imperial legal system including Taiwan. This study tries to investigate the establishment and application of the Japanese colonial legal system in Taiwan and to learn how Japanese authorities transformed the Japanese empire in terms of legal issues. This study contributes to literature on the subject of Imperial Japanese history. The methodologies are based on textual historical methods and the primary materials of the “Peace Preservation Law” to analyze how the Japanese authorities in Meiji Japan constructed the legal system in Taiwan.

Author

• CHUNG-YEN CHI, The Chinese University of Hong Kong