The Practice of Japan in International Law, 1961-1970

A nation's influence upon the content of international law is largely a function of the complete and rapid dissemination of its state papers and the sophistication of the international legal practitioners in its foreign office. The positions a state takes on international legal matters, and the manner in which it describes and justifies its positions, constitute the most readily accessible evidence of its state practice as a component of customary law. Therefore, one would imagine that all states would place a high premium upon the dissemination of their official practice in the international community.