* Associate Professor of Transnational Law, Kyushu University (http://www.law.kyushu-u.ac.jp/~luke/); Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand. I thank Associate Professor Makato Kondo (Gifu University) for help in locating certain New Zealand law related material in Japanese cited herein, and I thank New Zealand's Honorary Consulate in Fukuoka for making available to me the New Zealand News reports. The manuscript for this work was completed on 20 November 1998, but there is a strong likelihood of significant legal, political, and economic changes subsequently. I welcome correspondence and comments, preferably addressed to .

[1] For another still rare overview of New Zealand law in Japanese, see Kondo (trans) 1996a. An increasing among of law-related material is becoming available in Japanese, however, following the establishment in the early 1990s of what is now the "New Zealand Studies Society - Japan", based in the Kansai (enquiries can be directed to c/o Prof Makoto Tanabe, Sonoda Gakuen Joshi Daigaku Tanki Daigakubu, Amagasaki-shi, Minami Tsukuguchi-cho, 7-29-1); and the "Japan Society for New Zealand Studies" (Prof Yasuaki Takahashi, Gunma Daigaku Shakai Joho Gakubu Kokusai Kankei Kenkyushitsu, Maebashi-shi, Aramaki-cho, 4-2). The present work also aims to introduce some of this material.

[2] There has been almost no writing in Japanese on Commonwealth law generically. Exceptionally, see eg Nottage 1997 (but note that the URL for the full text of NZ legislation has since changed to http://www.knowledge-basket.co.nz/gpprint/acts.html). Furthermore, some translations by students of material in English downloaded from the internet, for my course in "Reading Foreign Legal Materials: Commonwealth Law", have now been uploaded onto my website on the Kyushu University Law Faculty server (http://www.law.kyushu-u.ac.jp/~luke/cwealth.html).

[3] Fawlty Ltd sic v Matsui Shoten KK 13/11 Kaminshu 2293 (Kobe District Court, 10 November 1962). For my partial translation of the case, see my website at http://www.law.kyushu-u.ac.jp/~luke/tvcase.html.

[4] For an overview of the Commonwealth, see the website of its Secretariat based in London (http://www.thecommonwealth.org). For brief introductions to member states, including the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, see the 1998 Commonwealth Yearbook (http://www.tcol.co.uk/cyb1.htm). These include brief outlines of their history, recent political situation, and legal/constitutional structure. See also "Legal Briefing Notes" on the law of the former three states, available through the World-Wide Legal Information Association (http://wwlia.org:80homepage.html/).

[5] "CER": see eg the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade website at http://www.mft.govt.nz/Publications/cer/index.htm>. For a recent review, see Holmes 1996. There have also been discussions about extending the Agreement to include Canada (Holmes, ed, 1989), and more recently attempts to foster closer links between CER and ASEAN organisations (http://orpheus.dfat.gov.au/cer_afta/cer_afta_home.html). On 16 February 1998, The Press reported that the former Prime Minister, Jim Bolger, was appointed NZ Ambassador to the US, stating that a main objective was now to explore the possibility of a free trade agreement with the USA. (The Press is a major New Zealand newspaper, based in Christchurch, which makes available online almost all its articles, for free and in searchable form: see http://www.press.co.nz/. Note, however, that it only stores these online for about 3 months.)

[6] The present Governor-General, Sir Michael Hardie-Boys, is a former Justice of the New Zealand Court of Appeal. His predecessor, Dame Catherine Tizard, was the first woman Governor-General and formerly Mayor of Auckland, Fukuoka's sister city and New Zealand's largest. Her predecessor, Sir Paul Reeves, was formerly Anglican Archbishop of Aotearoa and was the first Governor-General of Maaori descent.

[7] On 26 August 1998, this coalition formally broke up (New Zealand News, 26 August 1998). The National Party remained in power with a minority government based on the support of a range of other smaller parties and individual MPs, some formerly of the New Zealand First Party. For a list of MPs elected and their party affiliation, along with brief biographies, see http://www.ps.parliament.govt.nz/mps.htm. For links to websites of political parties, and other government related links, see http://www.liinz.org.nz/liinz/nz/govt/index.html.

[8] McDowell & Webb 1995: 192-210. For a series of short introductory guides concerning this and the ensuing points, see NZ Government Online, http://www.govt.nz/decisionmaker/.

[9] See eg below, fn 14 (RMA). Compare eg http://www.ccc.govt.nz/ with Wada 1996. See also Wada 1997.

[10] McDowell & Webb 1995: 192-210. For an overview of important caselaw developments, see Cooke 1994. See also Ikemoto 1995. Cf recent discussions about the rights of Ainu in Japan: see eg Matsumoto 1998.

[11] See Belich 1996: 229-46. Further, mainly to facilitate purchase of land from Maaori, legislation was enacted in 1862 to transform their holdings from customary collective tenure into individualised ownership. A court was established to assist in this process. It still exists as the Maaori Land Court (http://www.govt.nz/courts/courts5.html#land), although very little land now remains in Maaori hands. See Williams 1987: 428. See also generally NZ Law Society (ed) 1997b.

[12] The composition and workload of the Committee were discussed in the House of Commons on 28 January 1998 (Hansard, columns 222-4 and 254 respectively), available by searching through http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/. Interestingly, one former New Zealand judge, Lord Cooke of Thorndon, is a member of the Committee (and often hears appeals) because, exceptionally on his retirement, he invited to join the House of Lords. Further, as he has also held "high judicial office", he can and does occasionally hear cases on appeal to the House of Lords from lower British courts, when invited by the Law Lords who usually hear such cases. This is a novel example of judicial cooperation working working in the reverse direction: from New Zealand to the UK.

[13] On enacting the RMA, see Palmer 1995. For a Japanese translation, see Hiramatsu 1996-7. See also NZ Law Society (ed) 1995b.

[14] See Bedford 1994, Grimshaw 1987. For an overview from "NZine", a cybermagazine of "Lifestyles, enterprises, and humour from the New Zealand perspective", see http://www.nzine.co.nz/suffrage.html.

[15] See eg New Zealand Law Commission 1997. Following similar initiatives in the UK and other Commonwealth jurisdictions, the Commission (see http://www.lawcom.govt.nz/) was up in 1985 to advise the Minister of Justice on law reform more systematically, and independently from, the Ministry of Justice itself (http://www.justice.govt.nz/). On other civil rights issues for women, see Saito 1995.

[16] See eg Omiya & Oura 1995, Takahashi 1997, Aoyama & Okuda (trans) 1998; cf Matsukawa 1998, Kawachi 1997. See also Boston et al (eds) 1991; Scott 1996.

[17] It was further liberalised in 1995: http://www.knowledge-basket.co.nz/lawlink/pub/magazine/mar97/toepher5.html. See generally now http://www.rmmb.co.nz/investnz/Welcome.html. In the year to March 1998, direct foreign investment amounted to NZ$3.6 billion (New Zealand News, 30 October 1998). See also the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade website at http://www.mft.govt.nz/Publications/invest/index.html.

[18] In the government's "Policies for Progress" statement released on 29 September 1998 (http://www.executive.govt.nz/progress), Prime Minister Shipley announced that the government and the Manufacturers' Federation had agreed to phase in zero tariffs on all imports by 2006.

[19] See generally Bollard 1994. Like the Trade Practices Act 1974 in Australia, New Zealand's FTA includes a generic prohibition on "misleading and deceptive conduct in trade". It therefore helps control the contract negotiation process. The Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, drawing on some Canadian legislation, provides minimum standards in supplying goods and services which cannot be contracted out of in consumer transactions. This Act therefore helps control the content of contracts once concluded. In Japan, the EPA (January 1998) has recently proposed legislation to control both aspects of contracting with consumers.

[20] See the Treasury's website, especially at http://www.treasury.govt.nz/pubs/bmb/fra/intro.htm.

[21] Palmer 1979. After teaching at Victoria University, Geoffrey Palmer got into politics and eventually became Prime Minister. He is now a senior partner in a law firm specialising in public law, including lobbying.

[22] See eg Telecom Corporation of New Zealand Ltd v Clear Communications Ltd 1995 1 NZLR 385 (PC).