The Japan Civil Liberties Union (JCLU) is an independent non-profit organization which aims to protect and promote human rights for all persons regardless of beliefs, religion or political opinion. The JCLU was founded in 1947, the year the new Constitution of Japan was promulgated. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) played an important role in founding the JCLU. The JCLU is affiliated with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the International League for Human Rights (ILHR).

Membership is open to anyone who agrees with the JCLU's purposes and is willing to work for the improvement of human rights situations. The JCLU currently has about 800 members, 60% of whom are lawyers engaged in private practice, and others include citizens of various professions such as scholars, journalists, and students. The JCLU has a chapter in Osaka. The financial sources of the JCLU come from membership dues and unconditional donations from its members and outside supporters.

One of the core activities of the JCLU is to issues advice, memoranda, and opinions on specific human rights cases relating to activities of the national and local government, the Diet, and the courts of Japan. In addition, it has acted as a leader in movements for new domestic legislation and ratification of the international human rights treaties by the Japanese Government. Member attorneys are active in a broad range of human rights litigation involving the freedom of religion, freedom of information, postwar compensation, environmental pollution, refugees, and serious criminal cases. Recent activities include work on foreigner's rights, sending of a fact-finding mission to Cambodia, and freedom of information. The JCLU organizes seminars, meetings and symposiums, conducts research, and publishes reports, books and newsletters.

The Japan Civil Liberties Union (JCLU)
306 Atagoyama Bengoshi Bldg
1-6-7 Atago, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0002
Japan
Email: jclu@mb.infoweb.or.jp
Telephone: (+813)3437-6989/5466
Facsimile:(+813)3578-6687