The Active Role of the Judge in Japanese Civil Litigation

I.General observations, 1.The active functions of judges in several kinds of proceedings, 2.The historic change of the judge's functions in civil procedure, (a).Prewar civil procedure and its practice, (b).The postwar civil procedure reform and its practice, II.The active functions of judges in the process of litigation, 1.The court's power to check the complaint filed and to control commencement of action, 2.The court's power to control the claim, 3.The court's power to control the pleadings, 4.The court's power to control proof-taking, 5.The court's functions in developing the process, 6.The court's power to encourage to a "compromise", III.Some problems surrounding the active role of judges, 1.The active exercise of the judge's function in the social and economic climate of postwar Japan. 2.The judge's active function in small-claim cases and in suits without counsel, 3.The judge's function in the litigation with counsele, IV.The trend toward an increase in the number and power of special tribunals and the future of civil procedure