Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1899 American Edition.djvu/1121

 RELIGION — JUSTICE AND CRIME

765

Religion.

By the Constitution absolute freedom of religious belief and practice is secured, so long as it is not prejudicial to peace and order. The chief forms of religion are — (1) Shintoism, with 11 sects; (2) Buddhism, with 12 sects and 30 creeds. There is no State religion, and no State support. The principal Shinto temples are, however, maintained by State or local authorities. In 1895— Shinto temples, 190,754 ; priests, 14,927 ; students, 1,939. Buddhist temples, 71,821 ; priests, 53,275 ; students, 9,286. There are also numerous Roman Catholics, adherents of the Greek Church, and Protestants.

Instruction.

Elementary education is compulsory. The number of children of school

age (6-14) on December 31, 1895, educational statistics for 1895 : —

was 7,670,837. The following are the

Institutes

Number

Teaching Staff 73,182

Students and Pupils

Elementary schools.

26,631

3,670,345

Lower middle, ,

96

1,324

30,871

High

7

279

3,580

High girls' ,,

15

186

1,266

Normal ,,

49

743-

7,734

Technical ,,

97

1,078

14,806

Special ,,

1,263

3,250

64,948

University ,,

3

184

1,646

Kindergarten ,,

220

482

17,481

The University consists of a University Hall, Colleges of Law, Science, Medicine, Literature, Engineering, and Agriculture. It is supported by Government. The bulk of the elementary and higher schools are also sup- ported by Government and by local rates. One of the normal schools is for high school teachers.

In 1895 there were 25 libraries in Japan, with 441,034 volumes. In 1895, 26,792 books of various kinds, and 753 periodicals, monthly, weekly, daily, were published. Of the periodicals 409,429,528 copies were issued.

Justice and Crime.

A system of justice founded on modern jurisprudence has been established. Judges are irremovable, except by way of criminal or disciplinary punishment. There is a Court of Cassation at Tokio, which takes cognisance of civil and criminal appeals. There are seven courts of appeal for civil and criminal cases decided in the courts of first instance. There are 49 courts of first instance, one in each Fu or Ken, with branch courts in some Fus and Kens having unlimited original civil jurisdiction. As criminal courts they try and decide all lesser crimes, and also make preliminary examination of serious crimes. Justice of Peace Couits (301), established in principal towns and villages of every Fu and Ken, take cognisance of all petty offences. Once in three months criminal courts are constituted in courts of