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The legal framework concerning Japan's physical contribution to international peace and security through the presence of its Self-Defense Forces abroad underwent ad hoc changes twice since the beginning of the Twenty-First Century. The first change was brought about by the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001 and the second was the result of the war in Iraq in 2003. In both cases, Japan enacted laws that specifically enabled the Self-Defense Forces to operate abroad: the Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law 1 and the Law concerning the Special Measures on Humanitarian and Reconstruction Assistance in Iraq, 2 respectively.

The latter and most recent legislation, the Law concerning the Special Measures on Humanitarian and Reconstruction Assistance in Iraq, is the object of this note. As its name indicates, it is a very specific law concerning the situation in Iraq that resulted from its war with coalition forces in 2003. The legislation is valid for four years, unless this expiration date is modified by the Diet. 3 In the short term, this law is of immediate importance to the foreign policy of Japan, because it provides the legal basis for Japanese activities regarding Iraq and the international community there. Through supporting reconstruction work in Iraq, the legislation concretely [*580] demonstrates Japan's political desire to actively participate in and tangibly contribute to the international effort to strengthen peace and security in the world. In addition, the law also has long-term impact. For though an ad hoc law, together with the Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law, it is likely to provide a basis for a more permanent and comprehensive law pertaining to the Self-Defense Forces and their overseas activities, a possibility that the present Government plans to explore.

No More Waiting for Revolution: Japan Should Take Positive Action to Implement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
by M. Christina Luera

In 1985, Japan ratified the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women ("CEDAW"), which requires the eradication of all legal, political, social and cultural structures that prevent women from enjoying full equality with men. Under CEDAW, Japan is legally obligated to strive for actual, not just formal, equality between men and women. CEDAW also requires States Parties to take positive action to achieve gender equality.

Despite the Japanese government's apparent efforts to comply with CEDAW over the last two decades, gender equality remains a distant reality. On July 8,2003, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women reviewed Japan's compliance with CEDAW and concluded that gender equality is being achieved at a glacial pace in Japanese society.

Japan's failure to achieve a gender equal society is largely the result of the Japanese government's rule by consensus. Under this system, social beliefs and practices dictate political action, and the government will not affirmatively act to change society in the absence of a social or political consensus. Effectively, Japanese leaders wait for social change to occur, and then adjust the law to conform to the new majority belief. Given that CEDAW's vision of gender equality does not have widespread support among Japanese, the government's approach to implementing CEDAW has been gradual, compromising and incomplete. While Japan's efforts to comply with CEDAW have nearly attained formal gender equality under the law, on a practical level, the status quo has been almost entirely preserved. Rather than waiting for revolution, the government should take affirmative measures to transform Japan into a gender equal society. To do so while still maintaining its rule by consensus, the government needs to build a consensus that will support gender equality in Japan.

Cambodia's WTO Accession: A Strenuous But Necessary Step for a Poor Nation Seeking Economic Prosperity
by Rebecca Povarchuk

During the 2003 World Trade Organization ("WTO") Ministerial Conference, Cambodia became the first least-developed nation to accede to the WTO through the organization's full working party accession process. Due to domestic, political, and economic pressures to accede, Cambodia agreed to anarduous package of legal and economic reform that have left many, including Cambodian officials, wondering whether the small country is capable of meeting its obligations. Having plunged into the WTO with the belief that accession is its best hope for a prosperous future, Cambodia now faces the challenges of implementation.

In arguing against WTO membership for Cambodia, critics condemn powerful developed nations like the United States for pressuring the smaller, poorer country into an inequitable arrangement that may leave poor farmers worse off and the sick without access to drugs. Yet liberalizing its markets and integrating its economy with the rest of the world will ultimately benefit Cambodia because it will stimulate reform, encourage the continued flow of international assistance, and provide trade protections it otherwise would not enjoy. As a trade-dependent country, Cambodia made a wise investment by successfully negotiating for WTO membership. WTO membership can be a helpful tool for achieving greater prosperity for developing nations like Cambodia because it encourages progressive domestic policies.

The Australian National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas and the Marine Zoning System: A Model for the United States?
by Jennifer L. Schorr

Marine Protected Areas ("MPAs") are increasingly recognized as a critical component of marine conservation. MPAs are areas of the marine ecosystem set aside for special protection and management in order to conserve biological or cultural resources. MPAs manage the use of marine resources by limiting or controlling activities within the area. Marine reserves, the most restrictive type of MPA, severely limit or forbid all extractive activities. Scientific research has demonstrated that MPAs, especially marine reserves, can have rapid and long-term benefits for biological diversity, lead to recovery of specific species, and may have a "spill over" effect that benefits adjacent unprotected areas. As a result, MPAs are rapidly becoming a widely used tool for marine conservation.

Australia has the largest number of MPAs of any country in the world. It has also developed a significant national representative system of MPAs, covering approximately seven percent of Australian waters as of 2002. Australia's national representative system has been established through national legislation and cooperative agreements between the Commonwealth and the states. In addition, Australia has adopted a uniform zoning system so that all MPAs are designated and managed based on the same zones, to encourage consistency.

In contrast, the current system of MPAs in the United States involves federal, state, and local areas and is inadequate, disorganized, and fractured. The United States has only recently begun to develop a national representative system of MPAs. The United States should model the structure of its national representative system of MPAs on the framework now used by Australia. The United States should also adopt a uniform zoning system to be applied universally to the federal MPA system, and to those MPAs implemented under the national representative system. A standardized zoning system would ease implementation and management of MPAs, particularly those in adjacent state and federal waters, and add consistency to the currently disorganized system of management.

During the second half of 2003, Russia announced plans to build barges carrying two nuclear reactors capable of supplying electricity to a town of fifty thousand people. Rapidly developing countries seem particularly interested in this proposal, as these reactors can meet their growing power needs. In addition, these floating nuclear reactors provide an alternative to coal, oil and natural gas, all sources of energy that contribute to global warming. These reactors, however, pose a substantial risk to the environment, particularly in light of Russia's lax environmental policies, and the design of the barges themselves make them susceptible to a wide variety of threats.

Currently there are no international legal regimes that would either prescribe enforceable standards for Russia regarding the design and operation of these reactors, or impose liability on Russia in the event of an accident and resulting damage to the environment. All of the relevant treaties administered by the International Atomic Energy Agency have gaps that preclude them from imposing regulatory duties or liability on Russia as a state, and its agents, in the event of an accident. Similarly, although both international customary environmental law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea impose upon nations the duty to prevent pollution of the marine environment, the ability to enforce those duties and impose legal liability for their breach remains in doubt. Therefore, the international community should either: 1) close the gaps in current legal regimes (including treaty-based and customary law regimes) 2); develop a new regime (either based on treaties, or through further development of customary international law) that would effectively regulate and impose liability for damage to the environment resulting from an accident involving these reactors; or 3) cooperate in developing and deploying safer alternative technologies to fulfill the need for power generation that these floating reactors address. Of these alternatives, the simplest is the closing of current gaps in treaties, although the most effective may be a combination of approaches that effectively utilizes the strengths of each alternative.

The War on Cyberterror: Why Australia Should Examine the U.S. Approach to Critical Infrastructure Protection
by Elizabeth Tutmarc

As the global community focuses on detecting and fighting terrorism, defense strategists have identified the vulnerability of certain cybersystems. Traditional methods of defense and warfare, however, often do not apply to new technologies. Thus the cybercommunity is developing new standards for protecting computer resources against terrorist attack.

From the perspective of national governments, much attention has been paid to the importance of secure "critical infrastructure." This category of computer-dependent resources includes sectors vital to the smooth and orderly operation of public society, such as transportation, communications, and food production. These sectors are becoming increasingly dependent on computers to function, and the majority of critical infrastructure is owned by the private sector. This relationship between the public's interest in critical infrastructure and the interests of the private sector raises questions about how to balance the public and private interests in a cyberterror protection plan.

While governments have an interest in ensuring the security of critical infrastructure, they are reluctant to directly regulate privately-owned businesses. Since the late 1990s, the United States has been developing methods to secure infrastructure through public-private information-sharing partnerships, and has successfully taken steps to respect corporate privacy in the process. Conversely, Australia is in the early stages of developing a national strategy for critical infrastructure protection, and the government has faced corporate resistance to developing an information-sharing security network.

In comparing the cybersecurity situation in Australia to that in the United States, the Australian government should follow many of the steps that have made the U.S. process such a success to date. In particular, it should adopt similar corporate privacy protection policies for information shared with the government for critical infrastructure protection purposes, and should emphasize the development of public-private co-regulation of critical infrastructure. While the United States has not yet reached complete cybersecurity, its extra years of experience should inform the development of Australian policymaking.

Gay Marriage: Analyzing Legal Strategies for Reform in Hong Kong and the United States
by Robin A. Warren

Like many countries, both the United States and Hong Kong face the question of whether to legalize gay marriage due to social, legal, and political forces within and beyond their borders. The legalization of same-sex marriage in one jurisdiction forces other jurisdictions to decide whether to recognize marriages celebrated there. Comparing the current state of U.S. and Hong Kong law reveals that only a direct challenge to discriminatory marriage laws will successfully effect change. Two U.S. state supreme court decisions provide examples of effective legal arguments in a direct challenge. Conflict of laws analysis for marriage and the public policy exception to the place of celebration rule in the United States and Hong Kong preclude "importing" gay marriage by availing oneself of friendlier law in another forum. Ultimately, the timing must be ripe to effectively mount a direct challenge. In the meantime, every effort made, even if unsuccessful, raises awareness within a forum, and slowly gives rise to tolerance.