1872/1876
Establishment of the "Daigennin" system
The modern lawyer system in Japan dates back to 1872, when the "Daigennin" (legal representative) system was established pursuant to the Daigennin Ordinance whereby daigennin were statutorily authorized to represent litigants before certain specified courts.
In 1876, the daigennin system took the form of a license system, whereby such license to represent litigants was granted by the Minister of Justice.

　1880
Establishment of the Tokyo Daigennin Union
Local daigennin unions were created in 1880 pursuant to amendments to the Daigennin Ordinance, whereby membership in such unions was made mandatory and the unions were placed under the self-control of their own members. The Tokyo Daigennin Union, which was the predecessor of The Tokyo Bar Association, was formed at that time.

　1893
Enactment of the Former Lawyers Law and Establishment of The Tokyo Bar Association
Following the promulgation of the Meiji Constitution in 1889, the current Japanese court system was established and at the same time a new lawyer system was introduced by the enactment of the Attorneys Law of 1893. This former Attorneys Law possessed the following three basic characteristics:
(1)　 It adopted the designation of "Bengoshi" (attorney) for the first time.
(2)　It abolished restrictions of the kind and instance of court for representation.
(3)　It required passage of the bar examination.
While this law had several modern aspects, new attorneys were still under the supervision of the Chief District Prosecutor. The Tokyo Bar Association was established pursuant to the former Attorneys Law by the members of the Tokyo Daigennin Union in 1893.

　1923/1926
Splits from The Association
In 1923 due to a dispute over the election of officers, 384 lawyers left the Tokyo Bar Association and established the Dai-Ichi Tokyo Bar Association. In 1926, the Daini Tokyo Bar Association was established by 165 members from the Tokyo Bar Association and 13 members from the Dai-Ichi Tokyo Bar Association.

　1933
Amendment of the Former Attorneys Law
This was an important amendment which provided the foundation of Japan's legal system in the following respects:
(1)　 It expanded the professional scope of attorneys to cover all types of litigation and all out-of-court legal matters.
(2)　It adopted an apprentice lawyer system and institutionalized their practical training.

　1949
Enactment of the Present Attorneys Law
Following the promulgation of The Constitution of Japan in 1946, the current Attorneys Law was enacted in 1949. Attorneys are charged under this Law with the mission to "protect human rights and achieve social justice". As an institutional guarantee of the foregoing, it established the following systems:
(1)　A mandatory membership and self-disciplinary system.
(2)　A system of unified and equal training of legal trainees for judges, public prosecutors and lawyers.
(3)　A system of complete autonomy of attorneys of Nichibenren and of bar associations.
The autonomy of attorneys gained in this way is the source from which attorneys of their own accord fight against the violation of human rights and engage in pro bono activities both within and outside of the court for and on behalf of the citizenry. It goes without saying that such lawyers' autonomy must be maintained with the continuing efforts and strong self-discipline of attorneys.

　1986
Enactment of "The Tokyo Bar Association Human Rights Awards"
An annual event to endow "The Tokyo Bar Association Human Rights Awards" was created to recognize contributions made by individuals and organizations to the protection of human rights.

　1987
Establishment of Gaikokuho-Jimu-Bengoshi ("GJB") System
Professionals engaged in the practice of law in foreign countries whose professional status is equivalent to that of Japanese attorneys and who have practiced such foreign law for at least 5 years, became eligible to become "Gaikokuho Jimu-Bengoshi" (qualified foreign law attorneys).

　1994
Permission of Joint Enterprises between Japanese Attorneys and GJBs
As a result of an amendment made to the Special Measures Law Concerning Legal Practice by Foreign Attorneys (1987), as committed by the Japanese government as part of the GATS agreement, joint enterprises between GJBs and Japanese lawyers were permitted.

　1995
Completion of New Bar Associations Building
A 17-story building, conveniently located in the center of Tokyo's judicial district, was completed in June 1995.

　1998
Opening of "Tama" Branch Office
A branch office of the Tokyo Bar Association, jointly operated with the other 2 bar associations in Tokyo, was opened in the Tama area of Tokyo.

　2001
Reform of Justice System
With the promulgation in 2001 of the Law Concerning Promotion of Reform of Justice System, a grand design of the measures to be taken by the Government of Japan for the reform of the nation's justice system was established.
Three main aspects for the reform as clarified thereby were as follows:
(1)　Introduction of new judicial systems to enable performance of more speedy and adequate solutions of both civil and criminal cases and to enlarge the scope of the public aid to be allowed for the activities of attorneys for criminal cases.
(2)　Establishment of post-university graduation law schools to foster highly educated potential lawyers in order to achieve an expansion of able candidates eligible to become attorneys, judges and public prosecutors.
(3)　Participation of the lay public in the criminal process in accompaniment with professional judges.

　2002/2005
Formation of Legal Profession Corporations
As a result of an amendment to the Attorneys Law that came into effect in 2002, members of bar associations are allowed to form legal profession corporations by registering their purpose, denomination, address of the law office, names of partners and associates, etc. with the local Legal Affairs Bureau.
The above amendment has given birth as of May 2006 to 39 legal profession corporations formed by members of Toben.

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