a significant majority of its caseload. In its second role, the Supreme Court can exercise its power of judicial review when a concrete legal dispute involving a violation or misinterpretation of the constitution is appealed. The Supreme Court also manages the operation, budget, and personnel of all of Japan's courts. Decisions are made by a regular Conference of the Justices in the Supreme Court and implemented by the Administration Bureau of the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, through the office of the General Secretariat, also has extensive control over judicial personnel, including judges. This includes the ability to determine posts of judges, which has a significant impact on their careers and advancement opportunities. The Supreme Court also oversees the Legal Research and Training Institute, which prospective legal professionals who have passed the National Bar Examination are required to attend to receive practical training. Use of judicial review Although the Supreme Court has established the power to strike down legislation that is unconstitutional, it has used this power extremely infrequently. By a simple numerical count, the Supreme Court struck down only eight laws on constitutional grounds over a period of six decades, during which the German Federal Constitutional Court struck down over 600, the United States Supreme Court over 900, and the Indian Supreme Court over 1600. Furthermore, in at least one case where a constitutional violation was found, regarding election district apportionment, the court has been unable to achieve compliance with its ruling. Observers have proposed several possible reasons for this. One critical view is that the membership of the Supreme Court is influenced by the political dominance of the LDP, and therefore is less likely to challenge legislation produced by aligned politicians in the National Diet. There could also be the desire to maintain good relationships with judges in the Ministry of Justice or other departments. Another critical view is that the court functions like a bureaucracy, with a conservative leadership promoting like-minded judges that less likely to make significant decisions. A historical perspective argues that the early judges were influenced by a Meiji Constitution and German jurisprudence tradition that did not allow striking down unconstitutional legislation, and that over time this expectation resulted in a reluctance to act in politically sensitive cases to maintain judicial independence. One more favorable explanation is the role of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau in the legal ecosystem. The bureau